Marvia Malik, the country’s first transgender news anchor, escaped a gun attack outside her Cantt neighborhood home on Thursday night.
Malik claimed in her statement to the police that she was being fired upon by two men as she was leaving a pharmacy.
She claimed that as a result of speaking out for the transgender community, she had been receiving threatening phone calls and text messages from unknown numbers.
Marvia Malik said she left Lahore out of fear for her life and relocated to Islamabad and Multan. She had returned to Lahore a few days back for surgery. She said her activism was “a major factor” behind the assassination attempt, reported Dawn.
Felling honored to be a member of national youth council, Pakistan. thanks imran Khan (pti).this is called tabdeli. pic.twitter.com/0Ck5D0TWq5
— Marvia Malik (@MalikMarvia) July 10, 2019
Earlier, Local news channel Kohenoor News claimed to be the first in the country to have hired a transgender woman as a news anchor.
Marvia Malik, who launched her career in the entertainment industry as a model, was first seen on Kohenoor News during a Pakistan Day news transmission on March 23.
On the other hand, the Senate unanimously approved the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2017, empowering members of the transgender community to determine their own gender identity. If the bill is passed and becomes law, trans people will be able to identify as they see themselves and register as transgenders with government offices.
