UK Edition
Transgender activist dies after being 'denied treatment' for gun wounds in Pakistan hospital
A Pakistani transgender activist who was shot and allegedly deprived of hospital treatment died of her wounds on Wednesday, the latest victim of a wave of violence against the community.
The transgender female, known as Alesha, was shot eight times in Peshawar on Sunday night during an altercation between a group of men and several transgender people.
The cause of the dispute was not immediately clear. But transgender Pakistanis, many of whom are poor and work as dancers or in the sex trade, are frequently victims of violence and extortion, receiving little protection from authorities.
Immediately following the shooting, Alesha was transported to the nearby Lady Reading Hospital, where it is alleged she was ignored by doctors and refused access to either the male or female wards following complaints from staff and patients.
Qamar Naseem, coordinator of Blue Veins, a transgender rights group, told the Express Tribune that doctors “failed to provide her with urgent care or necessary facilities as she was transgender”.
“We urged LRH authorities to move Alesha to the ICU due to the nature of her injuries but they refused.”
She was placed in a curtained-off bed in a corridor next to a lavatory before eventually being given a private room, supporters claimed, but died from her injuries on Wednesday.
A hospital spokesman said that the hospital “was only acting as per the complaints of those admitted”.
Alesha had worked as a coordinator for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Trans Action Alliance, an advocacy organisation in Pakistan’s northwestern province, and was the fifth member of the group to be attacked this year.
The group claims it is being targeted by an organised criminal gang, which extorts money from the transgender community and has even forced members to make pornographic films.
Transgender women, known as hijras, are considered good luck in Pakistan and often invited paid to dance and perform at weddings, but also face discrimination and violence in the conservative Muslim country.
Around 45 transgender people have been killed in the last two years in the region, according to activist Farzana Jan. There are estimated to be around 50,000 transgender persons living in Pakistan.
“Transgenders in Pakistan suffer discrimination and stigma every day,” said Rifee Khan, of the Gender Interactive Alliance.
“Many are extremely poor or homeless and lack education because their families disown them, so they turn to begging, dancing and sex work to survive.
“Shemales don’t like these things, but they have to use their bodies to earn money for them and their families. They are very beautiful in Pakistan, they look like girls.”