The Guardian: Transgender Women on the Trail of Pakistan's Missing Children

Credit: The Guardian

“They think we’re freaks,” she says, rolling her eyes. “That we steal children because we can’t have our own. But here we are, doing the exact opposite.” Gulnaz pulls out a crumpled photo from her purse and sighs; the missing child she has spent all afternoon searching for – 13-year-old Asma Razzak – is nowhere to be found."

" According to NGO Sahil, in a survey of 85 national and regional newspapers, 1,064 child abduction cases were reported, of which 79% were girls and 21% boys. This is part of a wider story of children going missing across Pakistan; exploited, abused, sold into forced marriage or slavery. In its latest report, Sahil found the main reasons for abduction were trafficking, begging, sex work and bonded labour in brick kilns." 


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