An 18-year-old transgender person was allegedly gang-raped in Peshawar by nine people, TransAction Pakistan, an association for transgender persons' rights, reported on Monday.
“They picked me up and raped me throughout the night,” the victim wrote in a complaint filed at the city's Gulbahar Police Station.
"They set me free the next morning,” she later told Dawn, adding she only knew one of her nine assailants.
Police, however, have neither registered a first-information report (FIR) of the incident nor sent the victim for a medico-legal examination.
Rights activist Taimur Kamal accused the police of not taking the case seriously. “The victim has requested an FIR and a medical examination but police is using delaying tactics,” Kamal said.
He said that police and the area's influential peoples are pressuring the transgender community to reach a settlement.
Gulbahar Police Station's Station House Officer, Umer Afridi, rejected the victim's claim, counter-accusing her of trying to "settle scores" with a friend "by using the allegations of gang rape."
According to TransAction Pakistan, the victim was reportedly targeted for speaking up on violence against her community. The victim was allegedly also warned against taking part in any future demonstrations or else she would be killed.
Cases of violence against the transgender community are a common occurrence in Pakistan.
More than 50 transgender persons were killed in 2015 and 2016, according to TransAction President Farzana.
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