Court Orders Additional Jail Time for Couple Arrested in Alleged “Eunuch Wedding”

Pakistani fertilizer dealer Malik Mohammad Iqbal, 42, and his eunuch partner “Rani” Kashif, 19, are at the center of a controversy over whether they were throwing a party with other “eunuchs” or throwing a wedding party. They have been charged with trying to wed and unnatural acts under a Sharia-based law.

A Pakistani court has ordered their continued incarceration to allow police to build a stronger case after the two denied that party was a “Walima” — a dinner traditionally hosted after a wedding.

The couple could face life imprisonment if found guilty of an “unnatural sexual offense.” Forty people were arrested and released on bond from the birthday party, including 28 eunuch friends of Rani. A crowd gathered to throw things and boo the couple outside of the courthouse — a scene disturbing similar to a case recently in Malawi, here.

Iqbal insists that he was just the landlord and went to attend Rani’s birthday. Police insist that they recovered Rani’s “bridal dress.”

In Pakistan, “eunuch” can refer to hermaphrodites, transsexuals, transvestites or homosexuals.

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