Gunmen shot and killed three transgender women on the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, before fleeing the scene, police said Monday, underscoring the dangers faced by the community across the country. Members of the transgender community staged a protest Sunday outside Karachi’s state-run Jinnah Hospital, where the bodies were taken for autopsy. The Gender Interactive Alliance, a local rights group, identified the victims as Karachi residents who earned their livelihood by begging. Pakistan’s Supreme Court has recognised transgender people as a third gender, which in theory affords them legal protection, but discrimination remains rampant. Pakistan’s parliament in 2018 passed a law to secure fundamental rights for transgender people, including legal gender recognition, yet activists say social stigma and violence persist.