Twenty-two-year-old Barfi survived the assassination attempt but she may never be able to dance again. She is from Swat district but has been living in Peshawar for some time. On July 17, she was returning to home from a function when she was shot at.
“Some people had demanded Rs5 million as extortion from my guru. Obviously, they could not pay such a huge amount. In response, they (the extortionists) targeted me. Earlier, they had received Rs2.5 million extortion from the guru.”
Barfi was shot three times in the incident and has been bedridden ever since.
“Dance is the only source of income for transpersons. When one of us becomes disabled and is unable to work, life becomes very difficult. We have no support system and nowhere to go?”
Transgender persons who survive attacks are forced to flee
According to Farzana Riaz, president of Trans Action Alliance Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 157 transpersons have been killed in the province over the past decade. But such incidents have increased this year.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police confirm that 15 transgender people have been killed in the first seven months of this year, including six in Mardan, five in Peshawar, three in Charsadda and one in Abbottabad.
Last month (September), another transgender person was reported to have died in Peshawar.
In addition, a transgender person committed suicide in Swabi, which is said to be the result of constant harassment.
Farzana Riaz’s organisation—Trans Action Alliance—not raises voice for the rights of transgender people but also provides them with education, skills and legal assistance. She says that in the last 10 years, from Chitral to Dera Ismail Khan, there have been more than 3,000 cases of violence against transgender people, including rape, extortion, district banishment and head shaves.
“So far this year, 27 transpersons have left the country, fed up with abuse and threats, while more than 25 have been forced to migrate to Punjab or other areas.”
She says that transgender people are not involved in any crime, yet they are targeted for violence and are killed. They are raped, their indecent videos are made and then they are also accused of crimes.
Transperson Namkeen Peshawari tells Lok Sujag that people make friends with them, exploit them sexually and punish them if they do not fulfill their demands. Many transpersons have been killed in the name of ‘honour’, some for refusing to have sex and some for not paying extortion.
“Now we are only afraid of bullets. We have become accustomed to beatings, punches, slaps, knife attacks, etc. It seems that this is our destiny. We do not even go to the police for minor violence, but sexual violence has increased so much that every night one of our colleagues becomes its target”.
Namkeen Peshawari says that rapists roam free while the victims live in fear. She believes that if the police catch three or four suspects and punish them, the incidents can decrease.
The statistics confirm this complaint of the transgenders. According to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, more than 150 transperosns were murdered during the five years (2019 to 2024) but only one of the accused was sentenced to five years in prison.
Farzana Riaz complains that the police register FIRs and most of the accused are caught but the provisions inserted in the FIRs are so weak that the accused are acquitted.
However, advocate Mehwish Mohib Kakakhel believes that most of the transgender cases end in reconciliation. “A transgender person is not mostly accepted by the family, but the same family members become the heirs on her murder and sign a reconciliation decree with the accused”.
She refers to the case of Titli, a transperson from Swat, who was killed in Peshawar this year. The family refused to take her body and did not even attend the funeral. Transperson Arzoo Khan, head of the non-governmental organization Manzil Foundation, arranged for the burial, but when the trial began, Titli’s family forgave the accused, Amir.
Advocate Mehwish says that Titli’s case was fought and won by her guru, transperson Anmol. The judge did not accept the family’s move and the reconciliation of the parties, saying that there can be no reconciliation or forgiveness in honor killing cases. The court canceled the accused’s bail but he fled the courtroom and has not been rearrested so far.
The land of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has become a no-go area for the trans community and even the last rites of the deceased become an issue in the province. Local people and elders support the accused, and the deceased does not even get a place for her grave. Last month, during a press conference in Peshawar, Arzoo Khan, had said that the community had to pay Rs 50,000 for the funeral prayer of a deceased member. Speaking to Lok Sujag, they said that most of the people of his community are illiterate and do not know where to seek help in case of attack or violence. The truth is that the police do not cooperate either.
They say that unless there is legislation for the protection and employment of transgender people, and representatives of this community in education and health centres and police stations, their problems will presist.
The government will have to arrange for technical education for the community, grants, shelter homes, and public lawyers to follow up on cases. They should also be allocated sections in funeral homes and cemeteries.
Qamar Naseem, an official of the NGO, Blue Veins, believes that police training, social welfare department and registration of transpresons with National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) should be mandatory to implement the existing laws related to transgender people. Crimes against transperson people can be reduced only if the perpetrators of murder or violence are punished.
Human rights activist Taimur Kamal believes that no legislation has been enacted to protect transgender people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The government has made many claims but no practical steps have been taken. The provincial government first allocated some money in the budget for the trans community, but then it stopped there. It was said that wards have been allocated for them in hospitals and protective measures have been taken, but practically nothing has been done.
“The government has pushed human rights back a long way.” Taimur Kamal also repeats the allegation that people involved in violence against transgender people are arrested, but the accused are not punished due to weak FIRs and poor investigation.
Faqirabad Police Division Peshawar SP Muhammad Arshad Khan denies this allegation and says that the IG Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has appointed an officer for gender equality who provides all possible support to transgender people. “Four cases of violence against transgender people have been registered in Faqirabad division this year, in which ten accused have been nominated, and eight have been arrested.”
“Focal persons of transgender community are in touch with us and discuss every issue. They are also represented in the DRC (Dispute Resolution Council).”
The number of transgender people in Pakistan is controversial. When they were counted for the first time in the 2017 census, their total number was recorded at 21,774, while the country’s total population was approximately 207 million.
Seven years later, when the census was conducted again in 2023, the country’s total population increased to more than 240m, but the number of transgender people decreased to 20,331 which rather makes these numbers suspicious.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the number of transgender people has also decreased from 2,325 to 1,117 in these seven years. However, all the leading members of the community believe that the real number of transgender people is many times higher.
Farzana Riaz claims that there are more than 5,000 transgender people in Peshawar alone.