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Transgender shot several times in Pakistan for resisting sexual advances
The victim was at home when several men barged in and started making sexual advances, which she resisted.
A transgender person is fighting for life in Khyber-Pakhtunkwa province of northwest Pakistan after being shot multiple times for resisting rape, the latest in a string of attacks against members of the community in the region.
The victim was shot several times by a group of armed men who barged into the transgender person’s home in Mansehra on Monday and demanded sexual favours. Witnesses said the victim refused to comply, triggering a scuffle and then the shooting.
Police officials said the victim was in a critical condition.
The attackers managed to escape while the victim was taken to King Abdullah Hospital for emergency treatment. The victim was later shifted to Ayub Medical Complex in Abbottabad.
The shooting sparked unrest among the transgender community, which took to the streets on Monday to condemn the attempted murder and criticised police for not providing them security.
The Shemale Association organised a rally that made its way from Mansehra Press Club to the city police station. The rally was led by the association’s president, Maria Khan, and general secretary Nadra Khan.
Maria Khan told reporters that after another incident in Peshawar, where a leading transgender activist was shot multiple times over a dispute, the community was feeling increasingly unsafe.
She said police was not acknowledging the danger that transgender people face in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where attacks on the community have increased in recent weeks.
Read | Pakistan’s transgenders mocked by most, abhorred by many
