Pakistan transgender protesters demand inflation relief

Hundreds of transgender Pakistanis and supporters protested in Karachi on Wednesday against rising prices, calling for relief from inflation and help finding secure employment.

Demonstrators in Pakistan's largest city chanted and held signs with slogans including "high fuel prices, empty plates". Another sign read: "We beg on the streets, you beg at the IMF," referring to Pakistan's multi-billion-dollar bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund.

Organisers said costs for rent, fuel and food had risen and urged the government to pay more attention to vulnerable groups whose limited budgets are hit by more expensive essentials.

Pakistan's transgender community has gained legal protections in recent years, but many people still face social and family stigma. Some are pushed into economic deprivation and earn money by begging.

Aradhiya Khan, from the Gender Interactive Alliance advocacy group that organised the protest, said the khwaja sira community should be respected and honoured. Pakistan has long recognised a third sex, known as khawaja sira, whose members have traditionally played a spiritual role in society, including offering blessings at weddings and births.

Pakistan has seen prices rise during months of fighting in the Middle East and disruption to global energy shipments. A government survey said inflation rose to 10% in the three months after the conflict began, from 5.5% in the July-to-February period. The official statistics agency said consumer prices rose 11.1% in June from a year earlier.

Shahzadi Rai, a transgender protester and advocate, said many people from the khwaja sira community had struggled to find work, making higher prices harder to bear.