Punjab police arrests six accused for harassing transgender after video goes viral

SIALKOT:

The Punjab Police filed a charge sheet against six men accused of harassing a transgender in Sialkot after yet another case of violence against transgender person surfaced. 

خواجہ سرا پر تشدد کرنے والے چھ ملزمان کو پنجاب پولیس نے گرفتار کر کے مقدمہ درج کر لیاہے. https://t.co/0I9ZGGuDtA pic.twitter.com/Ge8CjiLBOg

— Punjab Police Official (@OfficialDPRPP) January 28, 2021

(Trigger Warning: The video contains material that may be traumatising to some audiences) 

On 28th January, Advocate Saleem Baloch took to Twitter to share a disturbing video of a Khawaja Sira being insulted and brutally beaten up by a group of ruffian men in Sialkot's Sadanwali area. In the video, the victim can be seen begging the perpetrators to stop beating her up, but the vile act continues for a while.

Footage of the transgender person being mercilessly beaten went viral, sparking uproar with netizens calling for action against the culprits. While transgender people continue to suffer human rights abuses amid growing incidents of violence, the viral video helped Punjab police arrest the hooligans.

Even though transgenders make up a significant portion of Pakistan’s population, they continue to struggle for representation and still bear the brunt of cultural and legal discrimination on a regular basis.

An instance of this was earlier this week when a transgender was stabbed multiple times in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Malakand district.

The president of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Transgender Association, Arzo, informed the media that Chahat, along with four other transgender persons was heading to a music party when the unfortunate incident took place.

Another incident that sheds light on violence against transgenders took place earlier in January, when Rimal Ali, Pakistan’s transgender model and professional dancer was attacked and harassed in Lahore.

After becoming subject to abuse, her hair was chopped off with the remains being shaved, reported Express News. Ali has accused a resident of Attock, Jahanzeb Khan, of this vile conduct.

“I am being oppressed daily so I can be prevented from working in the showbiz. My life is in danger, so if anything happens to me, Jahanzeb should be held accountable,” she said.

After years of being subjected to discrimination, Pakistan's transgender community is slowly making its way to mainstream media. But even then they are threatened and oppressed daily so that they can be prevented from progressing.