Two trans women killed in their home in Pakistan
Two trans women were killed in Pakistan (Asif HASSAN / AFP)
Members of the trans community in Pakistan have called for urgent action from the police after two transgender women were killed in their home.
The women who lived in Mardan, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 30 miles east of Peshawar, were reportedly killed on Sunday evening (20 October) by two men armed with daggers. Local police have said they are investigating the crime and a motive is unclear.
Farzana Jan, the president of rights organisation TransAction Alliance, said nine transgender people have been killed in the region since January and none of the killers has been brought to justice.
“We have given a three-day deadline to the police for arresting those behind the latest killings in Mardan,” she said, according to Associated Press. “We will stage rallies if the killers are not arrested.”
Despite trans people in Pakistan being able to self-ID under the 2018 Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, they – and the wider LGBTQ+ community – face discrimination, abuse and harassment.
LGBTQ+ also people face the risk of so-called honour killings by family members.
Homosexuality is illegal in Pakistan, with penalties of up to 10 years in prison or 100 lashes. Married people convicted can face being stoned to death.
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