The inevitable wait!

As I entered the emergency unit of the hospital, I knew that it would be a very long wait before the doctor would actually show up at the patient’s ward. Let me just tell you now that being at the hospital and especially in an emergency, isn’t good at all, unless you come in an ambulance. The reason will be disclosed later. But what I hate most about hospitals is the long wait. Inevitably long wait. The healthcare in Pakistan might be very expensive, but trust me, it’s worth it.

When you enter a western hospital, you know you have to wait. You can easily look forward to a 3 – 4 hour wait (unless you’re heart patient) before you get to see the face of your beloved daakter. You should also know that the nurses will act as if they don’t know anything about the doctor’s whereabouts. Such is the condition. You would also have to beg her to see the patient if need be (not in an emergency case, though — which, I think, in their dictionary is myocardial infarction only). But what works in this case is a constant stony stare. If you stare at your nurse constantly, this will put her surely in an awkward situation and force her to come to you and ask what the problem is. It should work as I haven’t tried it but have observed it happening. It worked.

Once the doctor enters the patient’s ward, he will be working at a supersonic speed like The Concord. So be ware and get ready to ask questions. At a supersonic speed, ofcourse! You should have all your questions ready in your mind before he disappears not to be seen again. I think he/she is taking revenge from the patient of their 8-year long medicine study.

These are some things that you will have to face in a western hospital where healthcare is free. The only concern is that is it really worth it? Even if you go in an ambulance, you will have to wait whether you are dying out of the pain, had surgery the day before, have a fractured elbow, or have a serious injury. No matter what the problem is, wait is required. While in a Pakistani hospital, you would get the same check-up done in quite a shorter time. It’s a blessing in disguise. Trust me for that.

I have been to the emergency ward quite a few times and I had to wait for about 3-4 hours each time for my doctor’s deedar. But, oh well, what can you do? Read a book, perhaps. But if you haven’t gotten proper sleep then cross that out and get a nap in that chair you have. That’s another issue but we can not do anything about that either. I wish they had beds for the visitors who are there for a night’s stay. But one can only wish, until I make a hospital. Maybe, one day. *grin* While you wait, you will also witness many scenes like a man shouting at her nurse and threatening her to get her into jail for not treating him, etc. Some are genuine cases but most are not and it all depends on the patient’s mental health which, I think, gets worse from the moment he/she enters this kind of hospital.

But as bad as my experiences are of the hospitals, I still love this profession (not the hospitals though ) And not to mention that at the end when you get home after a 12 hour long torture, it pays off (sometimes).

Courtesy: facebook.com/pages/Desitips

First trans-gender to become a doctor in Pakistan

Yes, you heard it right. Sarah is the first trans-gender to become a Doctor at an age of 23. Being a trans-gender is absolutely not an easy thing in a community like ours where people can not stop themselves from criticizing and making all sorts of nasty jokes. The peer pressure and the family pressure is enormous. People ask you stupid questions knowing your condition. You cannot define yourself as male or female. You have to choose whether you want to be categorized as a male or a female. I heard alot about it in the previous days in the newspapers and on the TVchannels. Government officials said that they will provide them with some kind of welfare. And to this day, nothing has been done; even in regards to their gender status. There is some official work going on but nothing practical has been done as yet.

Below is the interview of the 23 year old, Sarah Gill, who will explain the difficulties that she had to face to achieve her destiny

First published on THENEWS.COM.PK

If strength, determination and vision are the basic traits of a true leader then Sarah Gill certainly qualifies, as one for she not only has the strength and determination to stand up for the rights of her community, but also has the vision to lobby for centuries’ old respect for transgender in society.

A resident of Karachi, Sarah, 23, is going to be the first transgender to become a medical doctor in Pakistan’s history. This interview was taken on her recent visit to Islamabad aimed at meeting United Nations officials.

“Our community enjoyed tremendous respect in Islam as well as in the history of Muslim rulers,” said Sarah. “It was only after when the British came to this continent that we were declared criminals by law and since then, our community is constantly facing inhuman discrimination and have become a symbol of shame,” said Sarah, a soft spoken person with a strong opinion. She regretted that the law made by British was still part of Pakistan’s constitution.

Talking about the plight of her community, she said that usually a declared transgender is left with no option, but to indulge in immoral activities for survival. “Due to discrimination and harassment, literacy rate among my community is very low and those who have some educational background fail to find a job.” Despite all this social injustice, she said that transgender are never found involved in any criminal activity.

“The original Urdu word for a transgender is ‘Murat’ that is a combination of ‘M’ from Urdu word ‘Mard’ and ‘urat’ from ‘aurat’. We call each other by this name,” she said.

Sarah is currently studying medicine and is in fourth year at Jinnah Medical and Dental College, Karachi. “My family warned me that if declare myself as transgender, they will stop paying for my studies. Now I will have to arrange for my next year’s fee on my own,” said Sarah, who still attends college as a male student.

“I do not know when I will have my own identity as directed by the Supreme Court,” she said adding that the process of registration is extremely slow and is still incomplete even in big cities. “Almost a year has passed since the Supreme Court ordered Nadra to issue special Identity Cards for transgenders, but the authority is still busy in paper work and nothing practical has been done yet. “Majority of transgender community is illiterate and do not know their rights. It is a shocker for government officials when they have to deal with an educated transgender.”

She said that her class fellows have clear idea that she was a transgender, but she has not officially declared that before her teachers. “I am sure that I will be kicked out of college if I do that. Due to same discrimination and social pressure, majority of transgender tend to hide their identity and live like men throughout their lives,” she pointed out.

Sharing her experiences, Sarah said that from her childhood, she was always attracted towards girly things. She said that to be declared as a transgender, a certificate is needed from a psychologist. “I decided to go for this test two years back despite severe criticism from my family. “My family tried their best to convince the doctor not to declare me as transgender,” she said.

“They insisted that I pose as a boy throughout my life despite knowing that I am not. They said that I am selfish and not considering the respect that the family would lose after I declare myself as transgender. Every transgender has to face the same situation,” said Sarah who has also made several suicide attempts to escape social rejection. “A normal person can never understand our state of mind. It is like a soul trapped in a wrong body,” she added.

For Sarah, who is also running an NGO by the name of Gender Interactive Alliance (GIA), there is nothing that can stop her now from working openly for the welfare of her community. “I am not ashamed of my sexuality and the best inspiration is that my community needs me,” she said.

She requested all public and private sector organisations to provide employment to transgender. “If a man can be popular pretending to be a woman on a TV show then why a real transgender cannot make a career in media,” she asked. She also appealed to relevant authorities to speed up the process of registration and start issuing identity cards so that the two per cent quota for transgender can be implemented in the public sector.