Dr. Sarah Gill is the first Pakistani transgender doctor enrolled in Jinnah Medical and Dental College (JMDC) in Karachi. She made history by becoming the first transgender doctor in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) by the U.S. Department of State. Sarah also works for different non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for the civil rights of transgender persons.
“I couldn’t believe for years that my parents could leave me. I went through it day by day in the hopes that my parents would accept me one day. My parents provided me good education so I was able to search the Internet and know my answers,” recalls Sarah.
Being Transgender, it was never easy for Dr. Sara Gill. She fought a long fight in her way to earn a respectable place for her. When she reached puberty, people started glaring at her disapprovingly. She had to fend for herself to get food, clothing, shelter, or simply to stay alive.
As a child, Sarah was protected and her parents never neglected her education. But when she was abandoned on her own, she couldn’t even rent a house because of her gender. She was charged double for everything from clothes to house rent because people knew she didn’t have any choice.
There were several days when Sarah would return from the night functions nearly in the morning and leave for the NGO without having a chance to eat breakfast. She lived on a single meal for a long time as she couldn’t even afford her basic rent of Rs 10,000.
Life finally took a better turn for her when a program called International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) approached her. They hadn’t taken a trans to date and Sarah became the first transgender ever to be selected for IVLP.
“It was the first time I was respected due to my gender. They asked me to join the program even though I had already visited the US before against their rules,” Sarah said.
Sarah loves watching Netflix and movies, trying new restaurants, and traveling. Her biggest dream is to take her mother and her sister on Umrah with her. She wants to create more shining stars in her transgender community, educate all transgenders and prevent violence against them. Processionally she is planning to specialize in health problems specific for transgenders.
“I would like to tell my fellow transgender brothers and sisters to never give up. Yes, life is not easy for us but if you want to achieve something you have to make sacrifices,” Sara said.
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