Private bank claims opening first account on transgender person’s CNIC

KARACHI: A Pakistani commercial bank said Tuesday that it had opened an account for a transgender citizen on an identity card identifying them as the third sex.

A spokesperson for the First Women's bank said their branch in Multan opened a "Zindagi Asaan" account for Manzoor on her computerised National Identity Card (CNIC).

The spokesman further said that the bank will open more accounts for the transgender community members.

While speaking to Geo News, Manzoor said: “For us, keeping our money safe was a big concern. We have even lost our hard-earned money. It is not possible to carry money and we even left it behind at our quarters at times. When I came to First Woman Bank and spoke to them, they paid heed to me and opened an account.”

Manzoor further said that she is quite happy over opening of the bank account and will use it for saving money.

Transgender person Manzoor further said that she will urge other community members to follow suit and open an account, so they can keep their earnings safe. 

Back in 2009, Pakistan became one of the first countries in the world which gave legal recognition to a third gender. The move allowed the members of the transgender community to obtain identity cards.