"I would prefer to be dead than to live this way": Lived experiences of stigma and discrimination against khwaja sira in Swat, Pakistan.

Due to their identification as third gender people, have historically been subjected to experiences of social marginalization. However, the extant literature has not fully explored the lived experiences of stigma and discrimination against khwaja sira in the Swat Valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. To address this gap, we conducted 45 interviews with khwaja sira in Mingora, Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to better understand their experiences of gender-nonconformity stigma and discrimination in various social contexts, including within their families, in accessing health care, and within education and work contexts.

"Having a guru is like having a licence": analysing financial relationships between gurus and in Swat, Pakistan.

The focus of this study was on identifying themes regarding the financial relationships between (leaders) and (disciples) in communities in Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Pakistan. We interviewed 45 khwaja sira in Mingora, Swat on their experiences of guru-chela culture. All interviews were digitally audio recorded, then translated and transcribed directly from Pashto into English.