Finding fissures for countering anti-trans violence

During this second CONGENIAL Hybrid Space, trans activists from Pakistan, Turkey and the Netherlands shared their experiences and reflections with audiences at the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Center for Gender Studies at TED University Ankara as well as with students and scholars of gender studies at the Centre for Excellence in Gender Studies of Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad that were connected through a video call.

Diverse forms of anti-trans violence

Transgender rights expert and Global Human Rights Fellow at the Harvard University Kennedy School, Nayyab Ali detailed how violence is seen as a normalized part of trans life in Pakistan. She argued that: 'Misgendering and bullying are part of our life.' But also rape, abandonment and punishment are internalized to the extent that most cases go unreported. 

Demir Yegül, student trans activist at TED University Ankara, outlined troubling developments in gender-affirming healthcare in Turkey. Although legislation exists that supports gender-affirming surgery, the government recently issued directives raising the minimum age for medical procedures from 18 to 21 – informally and without legal grounding. 

Further efforts to increase the minimum age for such treatment to 25 might create even more barriers to accessing hormones and treatment. These restrictions, combined with pervasive violence and shrinking community spaces, have contributed to rising suicidality among trans people. 

For the context of the Netherlands, queer rights activist Emily Kho highlighted the contradiction between the Netherlands’ self-image as a progressive nation and the extensive gatekeeping for housing, job security, as well as gender transition where individuals must obtain a diagnosis before accessing gender-affirming healthcare.

Pathways for change

Ranging from greater visibility via political alliances to legal protection, the pathways for change that the speakers highlighted were as diverse as the forms of violence experienced by trans communities. 

Emily Kho argued that trans people remain easily alienated when they are invisible: 'Segregation creates an environment in which hate can thrive.' Visibility can help counter dehumanization – but it is a 'double-edged sword', as increased visibility also increases personal risk. She proposed that trans individuals could engage more directly with communities – for example, by visiting schools and speaking with students. 

Demir Yegül also pointed out that trans individuals are frequently portrayed in the news and social media in dehumanizing and 'dangerous' terms, and he stressed the importance of actively using these platforms to counter and reshape such harmful narratives.

Here, Nayyab Ali offered a framework for social engagement. She explained that society consists of three groups: 

• those who openly express discriminatory or violent attitudes
• those who neither show violence nor express support
• those who openly support trans rights

The second group – those who are silent but not hostile – should be prioritized. These individuals can be approached through shared values and cultural touchstones. In Pakistan, Nayyab uses Islamic principles such as justice, equality and empathy to create common ground and change perceptions. Building alliances with this second group can gradually shift societal attitudes. 

Successful transgender or khwaja sira organizing in Pakistan reflects the effectiveness of this strategy: Pakistan remains the only Muslim nation having enacted groundbreaking legislation that allows individuals to self-identify their gender without requiring medical reports.

Solidarities also emerge when one’s own oppression becomes a lens to identify the suffering of the other. Drawing on his work in TED University’s psychology department, Demir Yegül described how the aftermath of the recent earthquake in Turkey exposed further inequalities. While trans sex workers, for example, faced barriers in receiving humanitarian aid, support came primarily from the marginalised Kurdish communities.