Three transgender women found shot dead on Karachi highway
The killings in Karachi's Memon Goth area highlight long-standing violence against Pakistan's transgender community, which numbers about half a million.
Police in Karachi say the bullet-riddled bodies of three transgender women were found on a highway in the Memon Goth area shortly after midnight on Sunday. Authorities are confirming identities and whether a motive has emerged, with investigators reviewing evidence and surveillance footage. City police official Javed Ahmed Abro told the AFP news agency that the victims were found on the highway and that the case is under investigation.
Amnesty International said there has been a concerning rise in violence against transgender people in Pakistan, as rights groups urge stronger protections. Sindh's provincial chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said in a statement, "Transgender persons are a vulnerable segment of society, and we must all give them dignity and respect."
Pakistan is home to an estimated half a million transgender citizens, many facing social exclusion and abuse. In 2018, the Senate voted to pass the Transgender Rights Act, which allowed people to determine their own gender identity and offered protections in some areas. Key sections of the law were later revoked by a sharia court, limiting some protections and complicating advocacy.
A 2023 report in The Lancet noted that about 90% of transgender people in Pakistan experience physical assaults, illustrating the breadth of risk facing the community. The violence reported in Karachi comes amid such a climate of vulnerability and calls for stronger protections and accountability.
Investigators said identities are being verified and motives investigated, with no arrests announced. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities have asked anyone with information to come forward.