Pakistan has its first transgender newsreader
Pakistan has its first transgender news anchor—a milestone in this deeply conservative Muslim country. Marvia Malik, a former model, made her debut last Friday on the private television station Kohenoor, based in Lahore.
She told the AFP news agency that since her TV premiere, she had received more "love and support" than ever before from her family. Her relatives had never accepted her, which is why she ended up in the cultural metropolis of Lahore in search of a better life.
Malik, who did not want to reveal her age, told AFP that she also wanted to use her media presence to campaign against discrimination. It is also possible that she will go into politics herself or found a non-governmental organization for gender rights. Malik's superiors explained that the journalism graduate from Punjab University had astounded them during her job interview.
She said: "Do they want to see me as a scrounger, sex worker or dancer at cultural festivals? Or will they give me a serious job at their station?"
Third gender recognized
In 2009, Pakistan was one of the first countries in the world to officially recognize a third gender. The first transgender passport was issued in 2017. Some transgender people have already stood in elections. Nevertheless, they face massive discrimination. They often live as outsiders and are forced into begging or prostitution.
Transgender is a generic term for people who feel they were born in the wrong body and for those who do not identify with a clear gender. On Tuesday evening, a transgender man and a friend were shot dead in the northwestern city of Peshawar, according to police. According to TransAction, a transgender rights initiative group, 55 transgender people have been murdered in the past five years. "We want the government to protect us from constant persecution," said TransAction leader Farzana Riaz. (SDA)
