March in Karachi for transgender rights

(20 Nov 2022)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Karachi, Pakistan - 20-November 2022
1. Various of people marching and carrying banners and transgender flags
2. Various of drum and people dancing
3. Mid of marcher carrying a placard stating (Urdu) "One's real gender identity is a fundamental right"
4. Various of people marching, carrying banners and placards
5. Wide of people chanting (Urdu) "We have finally achieved it"
6. Close of people walking
7. SOUNDBITE (Urdu) Shahzadi Rai, Moorat March organizer:
"We demand the same basic human rights that are available to everyone else. We want education, we want employment, we want quota in jobs, we want respect, we want seats in parliament. There should be information about us in the curriculum, kids should be taught to respect us. These are all our constitutional rights which we want the government to protect."
8. Tilt down from church to activist saying (Urdu) "Religious parties are spreading false propaganda," listeners clapping
9. Various of person speaking
10. Mid of placard reading (English) "Support your sisters, not just your cisters"
11. SOUNDBITE (Urdu) Aish Khan, transgender activist:
"Transgender people are oppressed, they are killed. We have gathered here to demand our rights, we are determined to get our rights. Enough is enough. We will no longer bear the oppression. We will put an end to this."
12. Various of people dancing
13. Various of activists holding dummy bodies wrapped in shrouds in memory of transgender people killed because of their gender
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Saira Malkani, lawyer:
"In 2018, a law was passed for the protection of the rights of transgender persons.  A campaign has been launched for several months now based on misinformation. The notion that the act is against the constitution or against Islam is being spread but that is entirely incorrect. The act is fully in line with fundamental rights guaranteed in our constitution."
15. Close of person smoking
16. Various of activist holding a placard reading (Urdu) "Don't be your child's first bully"
STORYLINE:
Hundreds of people marched in Pakistan on Sunday to demand protection for transgender people against hate speech.
The protesters, in Karachi, carried banners and placards demanding equality.
"We demand the same basic human rights that are available to everyone else," said Shahzadi Rai, Moorat March organizer.
"We want education, we want employment, we want quota in jobs, we want respect, we want seats in parliament."
The participants also carried dummy bodies wrapped in white shrouds to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to commemorate those killed as a result of trans-phobia.
"Transgender people are oppressed, they are killed, we have gathered here to demand our rights, we are determined to get our rights," said Aish Khan, a transgender activist.
"Enough is enough. We will no longer bear the oppression. We will put an end to this."
Four years ago, Pakistan was at the forefront of transgender rights globally after it enacted a law prohibiting discrimination.
But the law hasn't stopped prejudice.
Recently there have been a spate of attacks on transgender people.
Saira Malkani, a lawyer who joined the march, said the notion that the Transgender Persons Act is against the constitution or against Islam is entirely incorrect.
"A campaign has been launched based on misinformation. The act is fully in line with fundamental rights guaranteed in our constitution," she said.
AP Video shot by Muhammad Farooq.
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