Dozens of transgender people in the city took to the streets
A transgender ‘doll party’ was raided by Pakistani police on Sunday, March 31, 2019, which saw 27 members of the community arrested.
The incident took place in Gujar Khan, a city in Rawalpindi, at a local wedding hall. Officers arrested 67 people, including 27 transgender people.
Officers stated that they had received information about people illegally consuming alcohol during a party and were violating the Loudspeaker Act. Therefore, they raided the event and arrested those present.
Police officers said that between 15 and 20 people managed to escape while they arrested the rest.
They claimed to have seized several bottles of alcohol along with a speaker system and other equipment from the hall.
The suspects underwent medical tests according to officials. A case was later registered under the supervision of Inspector Sikander Azam.
The suspects remained in custody, however, it led to protests throughout the city.
Dozens of transgender people in the city took to the streets on Monday, April 1, 2019, to protest against the ‘doll party’ raid.
They demanded that their community members be released immediately.
It led to some protesters marching towards the Gujar Khan police station, where they surrounded the building. Other members of the transgender community made their way on to the Grand Trunk Road.
The protests intensified as the evening approached. Some transgender people forced their way into the police station and danced as a way of protesting against the police.
They then went back to Grand Trunk Road where they continued to protest by dancing on the streets. It resulted in traffic coming to a halt.
This led to police attempting to stop the protest. However, the transgender community resisted police interference.
As a result, police officers charged at the protestors with their batons.
This only made the situation more chaotic as protestors began throwing stones and rocks at police officers, forcing them to retreat.
The protestors claimed that the police raid on the ‘doll party’ was illegal.
They said that officers misbehaved with some of the guests and had dragged them along the ground. The protestors added that people were arrested because they were transgender.
They also alleged that their equipment had been destroyed by officers. Members of the transgender community have said that they will continue protesting until their friends have been released.
The protestors also announced that they would gather around the Central Police Office in Lahore.
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