The bodies of three transgender women were found Sunday on a roadside in Pakistan鈥檚 largest city, Karachi, police said, in the latest violence against the community.
Although exact figures are not available due to severe underreporting, human rights groups such as Amnesty International say there has been a concerning rise in violence against trans people in Pakistan.
鈥楾he bullet-riddled bodies of three transgender women were found on a highway,鈥� city police official Javed Ahmed Abro told AFP.
鈥榃e are still in the process of confirming their identities,鈥� he said, adding that they had yet to determine a motive.
The bodies were discovered shortly after midnight on Sunday in the Memon Goth area of Karachi.
鈥楾ransgender persons are a vulnerable segment of society, and we must all give them dignity and respect,鈥� said Sindh鈥檚 provincial chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in a statement.
Transgender women in Pakistan have faced a highly organised digital hate campaign driven by the religious right in recent years, threatening their legal rights as well as their safety.
鈥榃hen hate speech and campaigns are carried out so openly, outcomes like this are inevitable,鈥� Shahzadi Rai, a trans activist and government-appointed local councillor in Karachi, told AFP.
鈥楨ven 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.鈥�
Activists say there is a pattern of violence against transgender women forced into sex work or who refuse the advances of men.
鈥榃e have already pointed it out to the government that this is a coordinated assault on the lives of transgender people,鈥� Mehrub Moiz, a trans activist, told AFP.
The landmark passing of a Transgender Rights Act in 2018 was regarded as highly progressive, lauded around the world for the protections it granted the community.
But religious groups said it was against Islamic law and 鈥榓 conspiracy to destroy our family system鈥�, and key sections were later revoked by a sharia court.