The bodies of three transgender women have been discovered riddled with bullets on the roadside in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, in what activists are calling a brutal escalation in the violence faced by the country’s transgender community.
The victims were found on Sunday, 21 September in the Memon Goth area of Karachi. According to police spokesperson Javed Ahmed Abro, all three had been shot at close range.
“They Were Targeted to Silence Us”
The killings have sparked widespread anger and renewed calls for accountability, justice, and protection for transgender people in Pakistan.
Sindh provincial chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah condemned the murders and acknowledged the community’s vulnerability:
“Transgender persons are a vulnerable segment of society and we must all give them dignity and respect.”
But rights advocates say the statement is not enough.
Trans rights campaigner Bindiya Rana, speaking to The Associated Press, said:
“Violence aimed at trans people in Pakistan is not new and it is deeply embedded in our society.”
She warned of national protests if police fail to act:
“If the police fail to identify the killers, we will announce a countrywide protest.”
Karachi councillor and activist Shahzadi Rai added that growing anti-trans rhetoric is feeding violence:
“When hate speech and campaigns are carried out so openly, outcomes like this are inevitable. Even though the state and police are on our side, killings are still occurring, which indicates that deep-rooted hatred against transgender people persists in our society.”
Systematic Targeting of Khawaja Sira Community
A spokesperson for the Gender Interactive Alliance (GIA) identified the three victims as “khawaja sira persons”, a traditional term used for members of Pakistan’s third-gender community.
They also linked the murders to a pattern of targeted attacks:
“These back-to-back tragedies show that the khawaja sira community is being systematically targeted. This is not just about individual killings, it’s an attempt to terrorise and silence an entire community.”
The GIA spokesperson laid out a set of urgent demands:
- Immediate, transparent investigation and arrest of all those responsible
- Creation of a dedicated transgender protection unit within the police
- Implementation of hate crime legislation to protect trans people
“The khawaja sira community will not remain silent. Our lives are as valuable as every other citizens’. We demand justice. We demand protection.”
A Community Under Constant Threat
Pakistan’s transgender community continues to face pervasive discrimination, despite the country’s landmark 2018 Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, which allows individuals to self-identify their gender.
But legal recognition has not translated into lived safety.
A 2023 report published in The Lancet found that 90 per cent of transgender people in Pakistan have experienced physical assault. Recent high-profile attacks include:
- In 2024, two trans women were killed in their home in Mardan, a city east of Peshawar
- In 2023, Marvia Malik, Pakistan’s first trans newsreader, survived an assassination attempt when gunmen opened fire outside her home
