From Saad to Sadia: Meet PIB Karachi’s first transgender councillor

Born as Saad in Karachi's PIB Colony, he transformed himself and became Sadia.

Born into a family of six sisters, exclusively talking to Dialogue Pakistan, Sadia said, she was raised with care and protection after her parents realised that a transgender child had been born into the household.

A Hafiz-e-Quran, Sadia recalls that from an early age she naturally dressed, played and behaved like a girl — something her parents chose to accept and protect, despite immense social pressure.

She said her family tried to shield her identity for years, aware of how quickly society recognises and stigmatises transgender individuals.

During her school years, she faced constant bullying and verbal abuse, being mocked and called slurs by classmates.

“Society does not just discriminate; it makes life unbearable and strips you of the right to live with dignity,” she said.

Neighbours would knock on their door, openly questioning her parents about her identity, a pressure many families fail to endure. Sadia credits her parents’ courage for her survival.

“They raised me in a way that I remained my father’s son and my mother’s daughter,” she said.

Financial hardship worsened when her father’s book-binding business collapsed. Sadia took up work herself, earning a modest Rs200 as her first salary, which she said meant everything at a time when there was no other breadwinner at home.

Her presence also affected her sisters’ marriage prospects, with proposals often withdrawn once families noticed her, Sadia told Dialogue Pakistan.

After her father’s death, which occurred suddenly while travelling in a rickshaw, Sadia said life became even harder. “After a father is gone, no one asks how you are surviving,” she said. Despite taunts and ridicule following her transition, she persisted.

Her perseverance eventually led her to contest local government elections, where she was elected unopposed as councillor of Jinnah Town, becoming a powerful symbol of representation, courage and change.