Pakistan news channel hires first transgender anchor

A Lahore-based private news channel has hired 21-year-old Marvia Malik as Pakistan’s first transgender news anchor.

Ms. Malik, whose first appearance on Kohenoor TV on Saturday went viral on social media, said she decided to apply for the job of a broadcast journalist as journalism has always been her passion, the Express Tribune reported.

“On hearing the news that

Kohenoor TV was about to re-launch itself after 10 years and were looking for news anchors, I immediately applied for the position,” she said.

“When I was called for the job interview, I was quite nervous and anxious about how things would unfold. As soon as I was called in, I gave my best and...They were quite impressed with my confidence and ambitions and I was hired on the spot,” she said.

Ms. Malik’s appointment came weeks after Pakistan’s Senate passed a key bill to ensure the third gender’s protection against sexual and physical assaults and harassment.

The Criminal Law (Amendment) (Protection of Rights of Transgender Persons) Act 2017 criminalised a host of offences against the transgender persons and provides for awarding stringent punishments to the perpetrators.

Ms. Malik said her plan is to fight for the rights of the transgender community. “I believe that empowerment of my community is my empowerment,” she added.