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PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Two men armed with daggers killed two transgender women at their home in conservative northwest Pakistan overnight before fleeing the scene, police said, a sign of increasing violence against trans people in the country. The killings happened Sunday night in Mardan, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local police chief Fahim Khan said. He said the motive behind the killings was unclear and officers are still investigating, and the victims had been buried at a local graveyard. Khan said that two suspects had also been arrested in connection with the killings, but he refused to share any further details. Khan also refused to confirm or deny… Read More

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LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — For transgender students involved in a very special project at a culinary school in Pakistan, there is more to a class than just learning the art of cooking. Neha Malik used to dance at parties and weddings for a living and was, occasionally, a sex worker. Since January, she has been enrolled in a new course for the trans community at the Culinary & Hotel Institute of Pakistan. The free six-month program in the city of Lahore, Pakistan’s cultural capital, welcomed its first group of 25 trans students in January; the second group of 25 began training on Feb. 1. Now, Malik, 31, dreams of working as a… Read More

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On 11 April 2025, the Punjab Government’s Chief Minister launched a comprehensive skills training programme for transgender individuals, also known as the Pehchan Programme, to provide them with various technical and vocational skills as a means of economic independence. This new initiative from the Punjab government is a heartening effort from the provincial government to improve the livelihood of transgender individuals, as they are still being discriminated against legally and socially in Pakistan, especially following the revocation of some protections from the Transgender Persons Act 2018 in 2023. The programme aims to equip 2200 transgender persons over the next two years with specialised training through the Punjab Skills Development Fund programme in skills related to IT,… Read More

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Shunned and shamed, Pakistan’s trans community finally gets help for TB TB screening campaign in Rawalpindi: The Dopasi Foundation launched mobile TB screening camps using AI-enabled X-ray machines to reach transgender individuals facing stigma in public clinics. In early January 2025, the program successfully diagnosed and began treatment for several community members. Often forced into sex work, trans people are at higher risk of tuberculosis but face abuse when they seek treatment. Now screening and outreach work are helping tackle the disease. Two years ago, Honey developed a persistent cough but was afraid to go to the doctor. Experience had taught her she was likely to face abuse and insults… Read More

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‘Through Azad Party, we shall try our best to end gender-based discrimination’ Islamabad: In order to end the Pakistani transgender people’s “backwardness”, members of the community in Islamabad and Rawalpindi led by transgender activist Nadeem Kashish announced founding of the Azad Party at the press club. Later, while talking to Gulf News, Nadeem Kashish explained that the prevailing circumstances, which are not aligned in support of shemales and transgender people, compelled them to adopt the new political route. Courtry to Gulf News

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