Pakistani transgender Inaya applied for political asylum in the Netherlands in 2017 after her father threatened to kill her in an act of 'honor killing'. Both culture and religion do not accept such sinners. Yet in the ancient Indus civilization five thousand years ago there was great respect for transgender women called hijras. They guarded the harems of the Muslim princes (between 1526-1858).
Under colonial British rule, discrimination began. But in the holy tombs of the Sufis, these outcasts are hailed as 'children of Allah'. Transsexuals are closest to the genderless God.
"No one is good or bad. Oh God, bless humanity," wrote Bulleh Shah (1680-1757), one of the greatest Sufis Pakistan ever produced. With his romantic poems and songs, he tried to teach his followers that there is more to life than just your gender.
The Pakistani transgender Inaya applied for asylum in the Netherlands in 2017 and received it. Her story is covered in the book.
