PESHAWAR, Pakistan - People in Pakistan's northern city of Peshawar rallied to mourn the death of transgender activist Alisha, who died yesterday from wounds inflicted in a gun attack, an epa journalist reports Thursday.
About 25 friends and fellow activists carried Alisha's body, protested and mourned outside a police station in Peshawar yesterday.
The group shouted slogans such as "We want justice" and "Arrest the culprits", and they urged police to quickly open an inquiry in her death.
They also held a small banner on which was written, "Say no to target killing. We are with transgender and their rights."
Alisha, who was 25, was shot eight times earlier this week in unclear circumstances, and medical staff at Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) were allegedly reluctant to treat her and even ridiculed her when she was admitted with gunshot injuries, a transgender activist told Pakistan's Dawn newspaper.
After staff wouldn't admit Alisha to either the male or female wards, a private room was found for her but she "died in LRH because she never received intensive medical attention", according to a Facebook post by the Trans Action Khyber Pakhtunkhwa group.
A funeral service for Alisha was held last night at the home of a local activist, with extra security arranged during the prayers, the Express Tribune newspaper reports Thursday.
Alisha's death is the fifth reported case of violence against transgender people in the northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province this year.
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