Powerful pictures from transgenders protest against gang-rape group

A large number of people from the transgender community and their supporters protested outside the Karachi Press Club against a recent attack on its community by an alleged gang-rape group known as ‘Beelas’.

The protesters also denounced what they called “the beela culture” that has existed in Pakistan since the colonial era.

A transgender rights activist Dr Muhammad Moiz organised the protest. He posted the pictures on social media along with the demands and needs of the community in Pakistan.

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A post shared by Muhammad Moiz (@unrelentlesslyyours)

“Help us dismantle these structures and create a more just and equitable world for everyone by not being silent bystanders as groups like the beela network inflict violence on our community,” Moiz wrote while sharing the pictures from the protest.

Following the protest on Friday, powerful and motivating pictures are making rounds on social media:

Earlier, Moiz came forward to share an incident of organised violence against him by the group [Beela]. A First Information Report (FIR) was registered by him.

In the video, he shared that on the night of September 19, he and his friends went to a birthday celebration of a friend, where the gang-rape group was already present. According to him, the group [Beelas] wanted to rape the ‘londay‘ (khwaja sira/effeminate boys) present there.

In his recent post, he has demanded a special committee overseeing khwaja sira in Sindh and a special helpline that khwaja siras can use in an emergency.

“The police must be sensitised to understand beelas’ behavior, while also addressing internal issues in the police departments that prevent most khwaja siras from launching FIRs,” he said in a caption.