Pakistani Acid Attack Survivor Running for Parliament

Nayab Ali, a transgender acid attack survivor is one of the candidates standing in Pakistan’s general election next week. 

Nayab Ali has led a difficult life. When she was just 13, Ali was forced to flee her house after being physically and sexually abused by her relatives. Later, her former boyfriend attacked her with acid.

Now, she is running for parliament.

“I realized that without political power and without being part of the country’s institutions, you cannot gain your rights,” Nayab Ali told BBC

Pakistan is very progressive when it comes to transgender rights and was one of the first countries in the world to recognize a third gender.

Many people in the Pakistani community are in full support of Nayab Ali and others like her.