The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has introduced a separate category for members of the transgender community in its online portal for company registration and compliance i.e. eServices.
This initiative is in line with the Government of Pakistan’s efforts to grant fundamental rights to the transgender community, under the “The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018”. The Act allows individuals to mention their identity on all official documents including IDs, passport, educational certificates, and driving licenses, read the statement
In line with Govt efforts to grant rights to transgenders, SECP introduced a new category for transgenders in its company registration portal, allowing a person to self-identify as male/female/other while registering a company or becoming shareholder or director.
— SEC Pakistan (@SECPakistan) January 14, 2020
Now, in eServices, a person has an option to self-identify under three classifications i.e. male, female and other. With this initiative, the transgender community is able to register a company or become a shareholder or director in a company with the personal identity of their choice.
It is pertinent to mention here that SECP’s reforms led to a 27% increase in company registration in 2019.
