Pakistan's trans people struggle to get safe surgery

In Pakistan, where gender affirmation surgery was recently legalised, Bunty is one of the few trans women who could afford to get it done safely.

Despite winning the right to medically transition in 2018, many transgender people in the Muslim-majority nation still turn to unqualified surgeons because of a lack of trained doctors, high costs and cultural taboos.

Bunty, who no longer uses her family name since her transition, said she went to the only doctor in the northeastern city of Lahore who performs breast augmentation surgery for trans women -- a qualified, experienced professional.

While the procedure was successful, she said it took place in an "underground" manner and cost twice the normal rate for a cisgender woman.

"I was kept at the hospital for only two hours and then I was