2 transgender women tortured, killed in Pakistan

MULTAN, Pakistan – Police in Pakistan say they have found the bodies of two transgender women who were tortured and beaten to death.

Senior officer Mohammad Ali Zia says the bodies were recovered late Saturday from a locked house in the Sahiwal district of the eastern Punjab province. He says it’s unclear what motivated the killings, which appear to have taken place three days ago.

Transgender people are often subjected to abuse in conservative, Muslim-majority Pakistan. They are also among the victims of so-called honour killings carried out by relatives to punish perceived sexual transgressions.