Harrowing footage of a transgender woman being brutally beaten by a man outside of Sialkot recently surfaced, shining a light on the abject, and often even deadly, violence that this group continues to face in Pakistan. Although nine of the men recently involved in cases of assault against transgenders have been arrested, the grave horrors displayed by this video show there is still a long, long way to go for our legal and social systems to root out this evil.
It is heartening that a social media uproar led local authorities to recently act against a gang whose heavy involvement in harassing the city’s transgender community for extortion money was well-known, but the horrific ordeals regularly endured by the transgender community in the name of culture and religion are absolutely shameful. Violence against transgenders has become far too widespread, far too unchecked and far too accepted.
This latest violation of human rights has occurred only three months after district police and hospital staff refused to treat a transgender woman, Sumbal, shot three times in the abdomen in Abbottabad. In May, a transgender activist, Alisha, was gunned down by her alleged boyfriend in Peshawar. Earlier in April, a group of men opened fire on three transgenders when they resisted an attempted abduction in Swabi. According to members of local rights group Trans-Action, more than 45 transgender people have been killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the past two years.
Those not killed or tortured are forced to live in wretched social conditions, are often disowned by family members, and struggle to find employment or any recognition of their basic human rights. The discrimination that starts from an early abandonment by family members continues to disparage the lives of Pakistani transgenders in the form of brutal mockery at the hands of the society. And now, increased violence and often murder.
The critical oblivion of their plight shown by authorities, despite the presence of relevant legislations, has significantly facilitated the establishment of their second-class status. In lieu of carving out an effective plan to fully incorporate them into society, the government has not yet worked for an effective implementation of even their legal rights, an important part of which included an amendment to the national CNIC form for their inclusion.
No matter how small it may be, every act of bigotry further ingrains our stigmatization of the transgender community and its lifestyle. To start with, a strengthened resolve and legal action is urgently required from the government. But keeping in view the widespread aggression and societal ridicule that plagues the lives of most transgenders, it would be unjust, however, to blame the government alone for this dehumanization. If Pakistan actually wishes to protect its transgender community, society needs to practice tolerance and acceptance on a wider level and punish those who violate and terrorize transgenders.*