Issa was born Fareeha in Lahore, Pakistan in 1968 to Anisa and Mian Fazli Mahmood. Fazli’s father, Mian Fazli Mahmood, was a Judge of the Lahore High Court. Fazli grew up in Lahore.
His mother moved to the United States in the 1980s along with the family.
Fazli was born into a religious family, but he did not agree with the practices.
Fazli earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (pre-law track) from Rockford University, Illinois in 1994. He got his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics with a minor in French in 1988 from Kinnaird College Lahore, one of the leading liberal arts colleges in Pakistan. He attended the Sacred Heart School and the Convent of Jesus and Mary High School in Lahore.
In 1984, he received his University of Cambridge General Certificate of (General Certificate of Education) O-Level in Science.
At Rockford University, Fazli was student government Vice President and wrote for the university newspaper.
He volunteered for charity activities. He also served as a peer counselor for ADAPT (Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team) at Rockford University.
He also attended Teachers College, Columbia University, where he pursued an Master of Arts in English He received his Legal Studies Certificate from City University of New York Hunter College in New New York
Mian Fazli Elahi Khan, Fazli"s paternal grandfather, was a government officer of Rajput descent. Khwaja Nazir Ahmad, Fazli"s maternal grandfather, was a successful lawyer and he ran the Civil and Military Gazette in Lahore, Pakistan. Fazli"s grandmother was Begum Saeeda Nazir Ahmad.
Fazli is a paralegal.
He has been working in the following areas of law: intellectual property, personal injury, criminal defense, and immigration. Fazli also taught in schools.
He interned with Congressman John Cox of Illinois, 16th Congressional District in 1992. Fazli worked as a staff reporter in Lahore and later he was a contributing writer for The Nation, an English daily newspaper.
Creative writing Fazli started writing poetry in school.
He was in high school when his poetry was published. His poetry and prose were also published in the Rockford University Journal of the Arts in the 1990s. His book of poetry was published in 2004.
He has written and directed plays.
Due to his playwriting, he was interviewed on PTV. Fazli"s family knew he was transgender. However, they refused to help him.
In the 1990s, they hid his travel documents to prevent him from returning to the United States. At that time, Fazli filed a police report with the local police against his family.
From that time onwards he did not keep in touch with his family.
With the help of his friends he underwent gender reassignment in the United States and began his life as Issa. His family promised him a function to mark the new developments. Fazli"s father used his influence in government to prevent him from leaving Pakistan from 2000 to 2005.
They approached the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
With the help of different organizations, Fazli was able to get out of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In 2005, he came back to the United States.
He now lives in the United States.
