Transgender murdered for rejecting advances

Rejecting a suspect's advances ended up costing a member of the transgender community her life after she breathed her last on Tuesday. Gul Ghatay, who was shot and critically injured on August 4 for not "maintaining a friendship", spent the last few days struggling for her life at the Lady Reading Hospital.

The 31-year-old Gul Ghatay, hailing from the Mardan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was shot near the Hashangri Police Station at around 1:30 AM on the night of August 4 as she was returning home from a musical evening. She was critically injured and was transferred to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, where she succumbed to her injuries some nine days later.

The transgender community in Peshawar is deeply saddened by Gul Ghatay's murder. Arzu, the President of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shemale Association, told the Express Tribune that transgender individuals were regularly being murdered, and their bodies were dumped with impunity. She bemoaned that the murderers rarely faced justice.

Arzu reported that seven transgender individuals have had killed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in 2024, and the community was outraged over Gul Ghatay's death. Over the past few years, approximately 137 transgender individuals have been murdered in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, with only one perpetrator having been convicted, she said.

Regarding the shooting of Gul Ghatay, ASP Hushangri Mohammad Ali informed the Express Tribune that an FIR has been filed, and two suspects were taken into custody. He added that as some others were on the run, but would be brought to book at the soonest. He assured that justice will be served to the transgender community.