Marvia Malik became the first transgender TV anchor to go on the air in Pakistan when she anchored her first show Friday for the private broadcaster Kohenoor.
Malik had three months of training before she went on air Friday, the BBC reported. She was previously a model and graduated college with a journalism degree.
“The dream that I saw for myself, I was able to climb on the first stair to achieving it,” she said, the BBC reported. She hoped her achievement would help the transgender community in Pakistan.
“Our community should be treated equally and there must not be any gender discrimination,” Malik said, the BBC reported. “We should be given equal rights and be considered ordinary citizens, instead of third-gender.”
“My family knows I have modelled and they know that I work as a newscaster. It’s the age of social media and there’s nothing that my family doesn’t know. But they have still disowned me,” Malik continued.
In an interview with broadcaster Voice of America, Malik was realistic about the difficulties transgender people face in Pakistan and other countries like it.
“I am a journalism degree holder, but I faced the same difficulties [as] the transgender people who simply beg or dance in the streets,” Malik said.
Transgender people in Pakistan are often mocked and discriminated against in the workplace. Many end up dancing, begging, or in prostitution.
TV station owner Junaid Ansari told VOA that Malik was hired on the basis of merit, not because of her transgender status.
“I made the decision on the basis of treating all humans equally. The thought of challenging the social norms or breaking taboos did not even come to mind,” he said.
According to VOA, Pakistan’s social media users are mainly praising the hiring choice.
Earlier in March, Pakistan’s Senate approved a bill protecting transgender rights.
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