A Pakistani news channel has made history by appointing the country’s first transgender TV newsreader.
Journalist and model Marvia Malik, 21, made her debut on the Lahore-based Kohenoor news channel on 23 March, and told the BBC she was “moved to tears” when she was offered the job.
Pakistan’s social networks were “abuzz” following Marvia Malik’s first on-air appearance, says CNN. Many hailed the move as progress for transgender rights in Pakistan, a country in which violence and discrimination against members of the LGBT community are widespread.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Malik, whose own family have disowned her, told CNN she is “pleased with the attention” that her appointment has generated, but said “more needs to be done when it comes to improving the lives of Pakistan’s transgender community”.
“I want to show the country that we are more than objects of ridicule, that we are also human,” she said. “I want the next generation of young transgender kids to look up to me as an inspiration that they can be accepted and that there can be opportunities for them.”
According to Pakistan’s most recent census in 2017, which recorded the country’s transgender population for the first time, fewer than 10,000 people identify as transgender in a country of almost 200 million.
-
Could Trump run for a third term?The Explainer Constitutional amendment limits US presidents to two terms, but Trump diehards claim there is a loophole
-
Political cartoons for November 28Cartoons Friday's political cartoons include economic diagnosis, climate distractions, and more
-
What does the fall in net migration mean for the UK?Today’s Big Question With Labour and the Tories trying to ‘claim credit’ for lower figures, the ‘underlying picture is far less clear-cut’
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
