A Pakistani news channel has made history by hiring its first transgender news anchor.

Marvia Malik, a 21-year-old journalist, hosted her first programme on the Kohenoor network on Friday.

Her television debut went viral on Twitter and Facebook, and her hiring was praised by social media users as a positive development in the socially conservative country. Ms Malik said she was moved to tears on hearing she’d got the job and that she hoped by as example she will improve the lives of other transgender Pakistanis.

"We should be given equal rights and be considered ordinary citizens, instead of third-gender," she told the BBC.

Many transgender people face enormous discrimination in Pakistan and are marginalised and mocked by wider society.

Ms Malik says she has been estranged from her family since she was 15 years old.

Transgender people struggle to find work in Pakistan and often resort to begging, dancing or prostitution.