Pakistan already has its first transgender news anchor

Maavia Malik is the first trans person to present a newscast in this deeply conservative and Muslim nation.

A Pakistan channel hired a transgender news anchor, the first on television in that country marked by a conservative society, local media reported Sunday.
Maavia Malik started working several months ago at Kohenoor News and two days ago she made her first appearance in front of the cameras, said "Dawn News". The news attracted the attention of social network users in a country where approximately 94% of the population is Muslim. Many praised the initiative of the channel and the bravery of the presenter.

"Malik is doing his job as a news anchor after training for the job," Imran Hamza, an administrative authority of Kohenoor News, told dpa.

Hamza also reported that before leaving live on television, Malik had presented several news bulletins on the Facebook and YouTube portals of the channel. According to the official, the channel is the first to hire a trans person to present the news.

Transphobia in Pakistani society

In Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world, there are 10,418 trans people, according to the last census. It is also one of the few countries in the world that recognizes a third sex in official documents.

In any case, trans people are often marginalized in society. On many occasions they are forced to prostitute themselves or beg, beyond the economic situation of their family.

The Pakistan Senate approved a law this month to guarantee protection to the transgender community from sexual and physical attacks and harassment. This new law, which must still be approved by the national assembly, also establishes as crimes that they are denied admission to educational institutions or to receive part of an inheritance.