Trans activist who was taunted and mocked after being shot dies in hospital
The activist died at a Pakistani hospital following a shooting and delays in medical care.
After being shot seven times, trans activist Alisha, aged 23, died yesterday.
However, before as they reached the hospital, friend and fellow activist, Farzana Jan, said a crowd – including male hospital workers – circled and taunted them outside the emergency room.
Staff then reportedly couldn’t decide whether to put Alisha in a male or female ward, before the hospital’s medical director eventually gave her a room in the VIP wing.
Farzana wrote about the abuse in Facebook posts, claiming a doctor asked how much she charged for a dance and male staff demanded her number.
Alisha had surgery earlier this week for heavy internal bleeding, but died this morning, according to hospital spokesman Zulfiqar Babakhel.
Both Alisha and Farzana were members of advocacy group Trans Action Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who announced Alisha’s death on the group’s Facebook page.
Earlier this year, another member of Trans Action was attacked and taken to a local hospital.
The person was refused treatment for nearly two hours and was also subject to transphobic abuse from hospital staff and police.
Xulhaz Mannan, the editor of Bangladesh’s only LGBT magazine Roopban, was hacked to death alongside friend Mahbub Tonoy last month.
An affiliate of terrorist group Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the murder and posted a gory video appearing to show the man’s body.
