Mehrub Moiz Awan on Queer Joyful Worldmaking, in Pakistan and Beyond

Abstract

Abstract: Mehrub Moiz Awan is a Pakistani khwaja sira-trans activist, public health specialist, global policy practitioner, independent academic, and performer. Their comic performances include the viral “gender ambiguous” and “shamelessly cute” Shumaila Bhatti (2016–20), the bold comic drag persona of Phudina Chatni (2018–22), and a present movement toward building khwaja sira-trans comic collectives (2023-present). In this excerpted conversation between Claire Pamment and Awan from October 2023, Awan reflects on her embodied experiences of comedy in transition across personae, forums, and a rapidly shifting landscape of transgender rights in Pakistan and beyond. She directs us to the mutually imbricated local and global forces prefixed on killing trans and queer joy while pushing us toward queer, resilient, and collective joyful worldmaking.