Pakistan’s transgender community gets a ride-sharing service for safety

Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s transgender community now has its first ride-sharing service. It’s the latest effort to protect trans people from discrimination and harassment. The business’s founder said on Wednesday that the service was launched over the weekend in the city of Lahore. It’s called SheDrives and will service only trans people and women. Ammaz Farooqi, the company’s chief executive, believes it could grow and expand to other cities. Aid groups estimate there are about 30,000 trans people in Lahore, and that the transgender community numbers about 500,000 out of Pakistan’s population of 240 million. Trans people are considered outcasts by many, especially in conservative areas of the predominantly Muslim country. They are often sexually abused, assaulted and even murdered.