Pakistani love story Joyland triggers rabid transphobia

Joyland, a movie made in Pakistan, is about a young married man who falls in love with a transgender woman. The movie won a prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and will represent Pakistan in next year’s Academy Awards.

But a week before the film was due for release at home, Pakistani withdrew its certification.

Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, a senator from the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party, is in favour of the ban, arguing that the film went against so-called Islamic values. He shared tweets which said the decision came after complaints that the film contains “highly objectionable material” and went against “decency and morality.”

The ban was immediately criticised by the film’s director and many people in the country, with the hashtag #ReleaseJoyland used tens of thousands of times on social media.

Following the embarrassment, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered a high level review into the ban.

Joyland director Saim Sadiq described the ban as a “grave injustice,” as well as “unconstitutional and illegal,” accusing the government of giving in to pressure from extremists.

He said…

“I urge the Pakistan Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to please review this decision and return the right of our citizens to be able to watch the film that has made their country’s cinema proud the world over.”

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan also condemned the ban, saying that the justification offered by the government was “not only rabidly transphobic but also violates the film producers’ right to freedom of expression.”

In 2018, Pakistan’s Parliament adopted a law enshrining basic rights for its transgender community, known as khwaja sira or the third gender, including the recognition of their self-identification and prohibiting any discrimination against them.

In practice, however, prejudice and even violence against transgender people in Pakistan have continued, with Human Rights Watch accusing authorities of “failing to provide adequate protection or hold perpetrators to account.” The country’s penal code also criminalises same-sex relationships.

Pakistan has previously censored a number of films, including those accused of portraying the country or Muslims negatively — although in some cases the decision was later overturned.