LAHORE (Dunya News) - Punjab police on Sunday detained multiple transgenders in Lahore for allegedly organizing an 'inappropriate' private event to promote 'obscenity' in the city.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the arrests were ordered by the Punjab government after videos of the event went viral on social media.
Fashion designer Maria B first shared the videos on her social media platforms, calling for action against 'transgender activists' in the footage, claiming such events violate the country’s moral values.
The FIR was registered on August 1 which alleged that the videos contained 'explicit content'. After they went viral, they sparked public backlash and prompted immediate action from law enforcement.
The case was filed at Naseerabad police station on behalf of the government, charging almost 60 transgenders under Sections 292 (sale of obscene material), nay292-A (printing/advertising obscene matter), and 294 (obscene acts in public) of the Pakistan Penal Code, along with Section 6 of the Sound System Act.
The Lahore police also mentioned that screening of the banned film Joyland, which features a transgender love affair, was also stopped in the city.
The film was set to be shown in Lahore on Saturday, nearly two years after its prohibition in Punjab cinemas, at an alternative venue rather than a theater.
In response, Islamabad-based transgender rights activist Nayyab Ali posted on X, clarifying that the individuals in the video were not transgender activists and had no ties to the transgender rights movement.
Ali claimed the video, recorded at a private event, only gained widespread attention after Maria B shared it, stating, “If this is vulgarity, then who spread it to millions? Maria B did, and that itself is a crime.”