2 transgender women stabbed to death at home in northwest Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Police say two men armed with daggers killed two transgender women at their home in conservative northwest Pakistan overnight before fleeing the scene, a sign of increasing violence against trans people in the country. Local police in Mardan, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, say the motive behind the murders remains unclear. Transgender people are often subjected to harassment, abuse and attacks in Muslim-majority Pakistan. They are also among the victims of so-called honor killings carried out by relatives to punish perceived sexual transgressions. Farzana Jan, President of the Trans Action rights group in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said another nine trans people have been killed in gun attacks in the province since January.