![A Pakistani woman. [Twitter]](/sites/default/files/styles/d08_standard/public/im/Saudi_Arabia_2017/Pakistaniwoman.jpg?itok=lPLvrkcI "A Pakistani woman. [Twitter]")
Almost everyone who has heard of Saudi Arabia can call to mind at least one suppression or abuse of human rights related to the Kingdom. It is therefore unsurprising that in Saudi Arabia, not abiding by the status quo can sometimes have fatal consequences. Such is the tragic case of two Pakistani trans women who have reportedly fallen victim to police brutality for dressing up as women in public, according to an article from the Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune.
People are spreading the hashtag #AmnaandMeeno in solidarity with the two women, who allegedly died a gruesome death.
This Twitter user was disgusted with the Saudi police for their actions:
"Torturing humans after throwing them into bags and beating them with sticks is inhumane,” said Qamar Naseem, a transgender rights activist.
— Nina ♥ (@IranLGBT) March 1, 2017
Another user was upset about the fact that the two women were, sadly, far from the first victims of violence against trans people:
#AmnaandMeeno yet, another hashtag about a transexual who was murdered! When is this gonna stop?!
— Louie (@LOUIE_THE_FIRST) March 2, 2017
This man demanded that the Saudi government hold the perpetrators of the crime accountable:
يجب ع الحكومة القبض على القتله و محاسبتهم ، يستقون ع الضعاف يا جعل الديون تكسر ظهرك يالفقران #AmnaAndMeeno
— زيز very nice (@Q_Q4u2) March 1, 2017
The [Saudi] government must arrest the killers and hold them accountable. They used excessive force on vulnerable people; may their sins break their backs.
The Saudi LGBT Twitter account issued this Tweet urging people to speak up about the murders:
Heartbreaking,
— SaudiLGBT (@ArabiaLGBT) March 1, 2017
Please people, make a noise,
let #AmnaandMeeno death not be in vain https://t.co/5SCa5f1uC0 https://t.co/5SCa5fj5ty
Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where it is illegal for women to drive, there are no movie theaters as films are banned, and the government turns a blind eye to worker abuse under the Kafala system (where workers’ residencies are in the hands of their employers). Did we mention public executions? Additionally, the Saudi government has been accused by the UN of targeting civilian areas in Yemen with airstrikes.
LM
