Growing violence against members of the country’s small transgendered community has sparked anger and protest about what more that can be done to protect them
[PESHAWAR]—Dozens of activists from TransAction Pakistan, an organization working to bolster the rights of transgendered people in Pakistan, held a demonstration in front of the Peshawar Press Club against the brutal killing of one of its members, allegedly at the hands of her boyfriend.
The protesters criticized the police and law enforcement agencies for failing to protect members of the country’s small community of transgendered people. “Let us live in peace,” they shouted.
They gathered to decry the murder of Nazo, a transgendered woman who was the latest victim of violence against the community. Police investigators claim that she was killed last month by her boyfriend, who has been arrested and is awaiting charges while in custody. The murderer allegedly chopped up the woman’s body and stuffed her body parts into polythene bags.
In the early hours of August 17 police arrested a man who was trying to dispose the body parts; they identified him as Muhammad Farooq. During interrogations with investigators, Farooq revealed that a friend, identified only as Sadaqat, was the one who killed Nazo during an argument.
“The deceased had refused to continue her relationship with Sadaqat, her boyfriend. It was this that caused Sadaqat to kill her,” Farooq said. Investigators were then able to locate and arrest Sadaqat.
The ghastly murder occurred in the heart of Peshawar, a city of nearly two million people that serves as the provincial capital of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtoonkhaw province, a region bordering war-torn Afghanistan to the West.
Waseem Riaz, the superintendent at the Peshawar Police, told The Media Line that “the police have arrested the suspects and the investigation is ongoing,” Riaz said.
Many in the city’s transgendered community as well as those throughout the country are fearful that the murder will lead to further violence. They have called on the government to take concrete steps toward ensuring their safety.
“We want protection of life and property. Pakistan’s constitution binds the government to ensure us these basic rights,” Farzana Jan, president of TransAction Pakistan, told The Media Line.
The group claims that 62 transgendered people have been killed since 2015 in just Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province alone. According data compiled by the organization, transgendered people in the province have been targeted in 479 attacks since the beginning of the year. While the government lacks any credible data on the number of transgendered people in Pakistan—a Muslim-majority country of 220 million people—TransAction Pakistan claims that they number roughly half a million, with many living in urban areas.
Given the predominance of negative views toward transgendered people in Pakistan, many of them prefer to live in the shadows. They often do not seek conventional jobs or educational opportunities for fear of being shunned or targeted with violence. As a result, many struggle to make a living and are forced into begging or prostitution in the country’s larger cities.
Like neighboring India, Bangladesh and Nepal, Pakistan categorizes transgendered people as a third gender following a landmark Supreme Court case in 2009. In 2011, they gained the right to vote, and a year later the government granted them the right to inherit property, promising them equal treatment under the law.
Until 2009, people who self-identified as transgendered could not even obtain a national identity card.
“Pakistani society shuns transgendered people. This must be changed as they deserve equal rights,” Qassim Naseem, an Islamabad-based human rights activist told The Media Line. “In Pakistan, transgenders are raped, subjected to torture and killed. The government must do much more to ensure their safety,” he added.
Alarmed by growing violence and discrimination against members of the community, Pakistan’s parliament advanced in May a bill aimed to give them more rights and legal protections. It declares that any transgendered person will not be discriminated against by educational institutions, employers, health services, or when using public transportation and buying, selling, or renting property.
“Anyone found guilty of discriminating against a transgendered person will be sentenced to six months in prison and fined 50,000 rupees ($500 US),” stated the bill.
Although the Pakistani government has been trying to protect transgendered people with laws, its anti-discriminatory measures have not translated into societal acceptance. The country’s law enforcement agencies have been struggling to rein in the four years of growing violence against the community.
“The recent wave of violence against transgendered people is giving us sleepless nights, but we are not disappointed with our results. In most cases, perpetrators of violence [against transgendered people] have been arrested,” Riaz said.
Dr. Sobia Ali Hina, an Islamabad-based advocate for transgendered people, believes this wave of violence may continue until the broader society can be brought to accept them more readily into the social fabric.
“The government and NGOs need to launch awareness programs throughout the country to educate society about transgendered people and the importance of accepting them. Otherwise, violence against this small and peaceful community may continue,” Dr. Sobia Ali Hina told The Media Line.