Pakistan's First Transgender TV Anchor Marvia Malik Attacked By Gunmen, Escapes Unhurt

New Delhi: A Pakistani TV news anchor Marvia Malik was targetted in a gun attack in Lahore on Thursday (February 23), as per several reports by Pakistan media. She is the first transgender news anchor in the country and escaped an alleged assassination bid on Thursday. Later, on Friday, a case was registered against the unknown assailants for attempting to shoot Malik when she was returning to her residence in the Lahore Cantonment area at night. 

She was attacked by two unidentified gunmen according to Geo News. Marvia told the police that people had been sending her death threats after she shared her opinion on the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018. To protect herself, Malik has left her Lahore home and has moved elsewhere. 

News anchor Marvia Malik has just survived a gun attack. This is the direct consequence of the hate speech & incendiary words that the likes of Maria B, Senator Mushtaq or Youth Club use against the trans community. Your words can cost people's lives. Say NO to transphobia pic.twitter.com/PKvDfhaiGg — Muneeb Qadir (@muneebqadirmmq) February 24, 2023

In September of last year, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) stated that the Transgender Persons Act was not compatible with Islamic principles, as certain provisions contradicted Shariah law. According to Geo News, the CII cautioned that the law could give rise to fresh societal issues and urged the government to set up a committee comprising CII members, religious scholars, legal experts, and medical professionals to review the legislation related to the transgender community.

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act provided transgender individuals in Pakistan with the freedom to select and alter their gender identity as they personally perceived it, and permitted them to update their gender information on official documents issued by the government.

Marvia Malik is a news anchor in Pakistan who studied journalism as part of her higher education. She had worked in the fashion industry before joining the media business, reported Geo News. As a transperson herself, she has advocated for transgender people in the country.