Pakistan: country's first transgender lawyer and NGO founder attacked
Event- Country
- Pakistan
- Initial Date
- May 13, 2022
- Event Description
Pakistan’s first transgender lawyer Nisha Rao sustained injuries after being attacked in Saddar, Karachi by four men.
Trans Pride Society, an NGO founded by Nisha Rao, narrated the incident calling it a ‘heinous crime.’ It said Nisha was attacked during a visit to members of the transgender community in Saddar by four men on two motorbikes as she got off a rickshaw to walk towards her friend’s apartment.
It said the aggressors beat and stole her belongings. One man used a ring to pierce Nisha’s scalp while his accomplices stole her handbag and mobile phone.
Nisha is a strong advocate for the transgender community and spends her time working as a lawyer in the City Court of Karachi where she fights for the rights of transgenders, in addition to attending Karachi University where she is receiving her Masters of Law degree.
“Serving and empowering the transgender community is Nisha’s biggest determination in life and it is crimes like these that make her fear the fragmented society we live in,” the statement said. It cannot be known whether it was a targeted attack and the identity of the perpetrators remains unknown.
The trans community and lawyers have demanded police take immediate action and arrest the culprits. In April 2021, five transgender persons were killed and eight sustained injuries in separate attacks.
Nisha Rao is Pakistan’s first trangender lawyer to be accepted into an MPhil programme to study law at Karachi University.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- LGBTQ+/ Non-Binary
- Violation
- Violence (physical)
- Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression
- Offline
- Right to healthy and safe environment
- SOGI rights
- Freedom of expression
- HRD
- Lawyer
- NGO staff
- SOGI rights defender
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Non-state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 24.85757093349513
Longitude: 67.02258893357703
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 13 May 2022, Nisha Rao, country's first transgender lawyer and founder of the NGO Trans Pride Society, was assaulted by four men wile visiting a transgender community in Karachi, Pakistan.