Thirteen transgender candidates are making history in Pakistan by running for office in the upcoming general election.

Two of the candidates will run for the National Assembly, while the rest will run for provincial assembly seats.

The announcement came on Wednesday at a national consultation, organized by the All Pakistan Transgender Election Network (APTEN), in collaboration with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The consultation was attended by all of the candidates and their representatives, and issues of importance to the trans community were discussed, including obtaining proper ID cards.

Pakistan’s National Assembly approved a law earlier this year guaranteeing a number of rights for transgender people, called The Transgender Persons Protection of Rights Act, which bans discrimination by employers and business owners, and allows transgender people to self-identify as male, female, or “third sex” on passports and official documents. It was signed into law by President Mamnoon Hussain.

Other recent efforts to aide Pakistan's trans community include opening a school and a retirement home, both specifically for transgender people.

Still, the transgender community faces high rates of violence and discrimination in the country.

Earlier this month, a transgender woman hired to dance at a wedding was shot and killed when she was unable to provide change. It was the fourth killing of a trans woman in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region alone this year, and the 57th since 2015, Human Rights Watch reports.

“It is about time that the transgender community of Pakistan has rightful representation," Qamar Naseem, a member of the Chief Minister’s Special Community on Rights of the Transgender Persons and of the National Task Force, told The Express Tribune, adding that as members of a vulnerable community trans citizens will not have to wait in line to vote, but will instead be given priority.

“In the upcoming electoral process ECP will ensure a friendly and inclusive system for the transgender community not only as voters but also as candidates,” said Nighat Siddique, Additional Director General (Gender Affairs).

APTEN named the following transgender candidates as among the 13 running: Farzana Riaz (NA-33), Arzu Khan (PK-33), Lubna (PP-26), Komal (PP-38), Madam Bhutto (PP-189), Nayab (NA-142), Nadeem Kasish (candidate for National Assembly), and Ashee (candidate from Punjab).