Religious Leaders' Views on Rights of Khwaja Sira in Pakistan

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, religious leaders play a significant role in shaping public attitudes toward khwaja sira, people who identify as third gender. This study explores the perspectives of Muslim religious scholars and leaders in District Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on the human rights of khwaja sira. Applying a rights-based framework, we conducted 40 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with Muslim religious scholars and leaders. Through abductive analytical techniques, we identified three key themes: (1) perceptions of human rights for khwaja sira in Pakistan; (2) third gender recognition in Islam; and (3) third gender recognition by the state. Our findings illuminate tensions between human rights frameworks and local religious understandings, while also suggesting that the views of religious scholars and leaders may be leveraged to shape public opinion on cisheteronormative notions of gender and sexuality in the Pashtun context.