Trans beauty queens are not merely pretty faces. Filipina beauty queens turned trans advocates Maki Gingoyon and Geena Rocero get political in their fight for equality and recognition. Consider this: from 2008-2014, the Philippines had one of the highest rates of murders of transgender people in all of Asia, according to the International Trans Murder Monitoring project. Filipina trans women may be visible but often lack recognition and full legal protection leaving them vulnerable to discrimination and violence.

Watch the video that profiles trans women activists in the Philippines after the jump.