A man in Pakistan has been arrested after his transgender daughter was murdered.
Maya, a 19-year-old transgender woman from the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, had left home and was living with friends in the city of Peshawar.
Her family attempted to bring her home on Saturday.
Maya’s friends, concerned for her safety, contacted the police.
But the officers allowed family members to take Maya home to the city of Nowshera.
Officer Azmat Khan said Aurangzeb Akbar, the teenager’s father, provided the police with a written assurance that he would not harm his child.
Maya’s bullet-ridden body was discovered just hours later, on Saturday night, beside a river bank in Nowshera.
The transgender community in the city have staged protests in the wake of her death.
Police officers are also reportedly searching for Maya’s uncle and brothers, according to Pakistan’s Samaa TV.
In Pakistan’s conservative society, transgender people can be subjected to abuse and sometimes so-called “honour killings” by their families.
In May 2018 the country’s parliament passed a law guaranteeing the community basic rights, but discrimination remains prevalent.
Many transgender people in Pakistan struggle to find jobs and have been attacked, murdered and raped.
Some are forced to work as sex workers, dancers or beggars.
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) act was passed by a majority in the National Assembly in Islamabad to combat such treatment.
The law bans discrimination against transgender people by employers and business owners as well as outlawing harassment in public places or at home.
It also allows transgender people to self-identify as male, female or a “third sex” on official documents, such as passports or driver’s licenses.
Additional reporting by agencies
