Armed assailants threatened and assaulted two trans women while they were in their home Pakistan.

The assailants broke into the house of the two trans women in Karachi on Sunday (30 December).

The group, reportedly a man and his three sons, attacked the couple with sticks, Samaa TV reports.

The attackers also assaulted several other members of the trans community, threatening to kill the victims if they did not leave the Pipri area in the southeastern part of the city.

In response, numerous members of the local trans community protested outside of the Malir Press Club.

The demonstrators demanded that local police arrest the suspects. They also threatened to stage a sit-in on the National Highway if the authorities did not take further action.

Threats of discrimination and violence remain

The assault comes on the same day that Pakistan saw its first Trans Pride rally, which was held in Lahore.

Pakistan’s trans community has experienced some progress in greater legal rights over recent years.

In May, Pakistan’s National Assembly voted to pass the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2017, which includes significant legal protections for the trans community and allows people to legally change their gender without approval from a medical board.

The country also saw the opening of both a specialist hospital ward for treating transgender patients and a school for transgender youths,

However, trans people in the country still face widespread discrimination, persecution, and the threat of violence.

There have been over 500 murders of trans people in Pakistan since 2015. Over 60 murders of trans people have taken place in the past year.

Trans rights activists have repeatedly warned of the dangers facing the trans community in Pakistan, and have called on the government to put a stop to the ‘endemic of violence’.

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