A trans woman who was among the organisers of the Climate March held in Karachi on Sunday was allegedly abducted and raped by policemen who wanted to obtain information about the march.
According to the Karachi Bachao Tehreek (Save Karachi Movement), an evolving movement of demolition affected people and their allies in Karachi, one of the marches organizers was abducted, on her way back home from an organizing meeting held on the night before the march, tortured and raped to get information about the speech’s to be made during the march and the overall agenda.
The marchers were protesting against the ‘eco-fascist and extractive development projects’ that have impacted the lives of working-class people in Karachi. Those participating in the march included victims of climate injustice in Karachi, including those whose homes have been demolished as a result of ‘’green’’ planning agendas.
Protesters were also confronted by the police on the day of the march. According to a tweet by the organizers, “On the day of the march, as protestors arrived, they were met with heavy contingents of police, and the march was blockaded and surrounded on all sides by police vans. Protestors were only allowed to move forward inches at a time, with the explicit goal of not allowing the march to gather momentum and reach Bilawal House”.
Previously, those resisting forced displacements in Karachi have been ‘’ subjected to false terrorism charges, illegal detention, arrests, intimidation, and abductions”.
