Transgender person sexually assaulted in Rawalpindi, Pakistan – violence against transgenders continues

Transgender person sexually assaulted in Rawalpindi, Pakistan – violence against transgenders continues

Another transgender person has informed the police to have been sexually assaulted by a man in Pirwadhai area last Tuesday, September 14. 

The victim informed the Pirwadhai police that the suspect had borrowed Rs600,000 (€3037) from him. The victim and suspect decided to meet in a hotel room to return the money. The suspect arrived with another unidentified person, but with another initiative than to return the money.

The victim was allegedly sexually assaulted by the suspect, who escaped afterwards. The victim subsequently lodged a complaint to the police, soon after which the suspect was arrested. Both victim and suspect were shifted to the hospital to undergo a medical examination (Dawn, 2021).

Unfortunately, violence against transgender persons in Pakistan is a common occurrence. Earlier this month, on September 11, 38 people were also held for ‘threatening’ two transgender persons in Rawalpindi, by forcibly entering their house and injuring them (Dawn, 2021). On April 6, an elderly transgender person, 65-years-old, was shot dead in his own home in Korangi (Dawn, 2021).

Photo source: New York Times, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/19/world/asia/pakistan-transgender-bill.html. 

Dawn (2021, September 16) “Transgender person ‘sexually assaulted’” https://www.dawn.com/news/1646565/transgender-person-sexually-assaulted. 

Dawn (2021, September 11) “38 held for ‘threatening’ transgender persons in Rawalpindi” https://www.dawn.com/news/1645642/38-held-for-threatening-transgender-persons-in-rawalpindi. 

Dawn (2021, April 6) “Elderly transgender shot dead in Korangi home” https://www.dawn.com/news/1616658/elderly-transgender-shot-dead-in-korangi-home.