Hafizzz
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2010
- Messages
- 5,041
- Reaction score
- 0
India's 'third gender': A marginalised social class | The Stream - Al Jazeera English
Transgender - how did this community go from revered to living on the fringes of society? That is the plight of Indias estimated 5 million hijras.The term applies to a diverse group who identify as neither male nor female. They can range from natural intersex to male cross dresser. Respected by the Mughals, but considered criminals by British colonisers, today many live as sex workers and beggars. We speak to hijra and transgender activists who say not enough is being done to make them fully accepted members of Indian society again. Join us at 19:30 GMT.
With a unique culture spanning thousands of years in South Asia, hijras consider themselves neither male nor female. In ancient India, this "third sex" included barren women, impotent men, eunuchs, and hermaphrodites/intersex. Today "hijra" (also known in different communities as Kinnar, Kothi, Aravanis, Jogtas/Jogappas, Khusras or Shiv-Shaktis) refers to those born male or intersexed who live and dress like women. Many biological male hijras undergo a sacred ritual of castration ("nirvan") or sex reassignment surgery. There are upwards of 6 million Indians who identify as hijra, but statistics vary as the population census only includes "male" or "female" categories.
Hijras were once a revered and accepted group in Indian culture. The Vedas, ancient Hindu texts, include eunuchs and characters with both male and female characteristics. They were believed to bring luck and provide special fertility powers. During the Mughal period, eunuchs played an important role in the court administration as royal guards. For centuries, they have performed badhai, or blessings at weddings and births
Their sanctioned place in Indian culture changed during the British colonial period. Introduced in 1860 and not abolished until 2009, section 377 of the Indian Penal Code outlawed "carnal intercourse against the order of nature." Also that year, the Election Commission allowed "other" gender identification.
The government's Aadhar program, started in 2009 that gives each citizen a unique ID number, now recognizes "transgender."
Transgender - how did this community go from revered to living on the fringes of society? That is the plight of Indias estimated 5 million hijras.The term applies to a diverse group who identify as neither male nor female. They can range from natural intersex to male cross dresser. Respected by the Mughals, but considered criminals by British colonisers, today many live as sex workers and beggars. We speak to hijra and transgender activists who say not enough is being done to make them fully accepted members of Indian society again. Join us at 19:30 GMT.
With a unique culture spanning thousands of years in South Asia, hijras consider themselves neither male nor female. In ancient India, this "third sex" included barren women, impotent men, eunuchs, and hermaphrodites/intersex. Today "hijra" (also known in different communities as Kinnar, Kothi, Aravanis, Jogtas/Jogappas, Khusras or Shiv-Shaktis) refers to those born male or intersexed who live and dress like women. Many biological male hijras undergo a sacred ritual of castration ("nirvan") or sex reassignment surgery. There are upwards of 6 million Indians who identify as hijra, but statistics vary as the population census only includes "male" or "female" categories.
Hijras were once a revered and accepted group in Indian culture. The Vedas, ancient Hindu texts, include eunuchs and characters with both male and female characteristics. They were believed to bring luck and provide special fertility powers. During the Mughal period, eunuchs played an important role in the court administration as royal guards. For centuries, they have performed badhai, or blessings at weddings and births
Their sanctioned place in Indian culture changed during the British colonial period. Introduced in 1860 and not abolished until 2009, section 377 of the Indian Penal Code outlawed "carnal intercourse against the order of nature." Also that year, the Election Commission allowed "other" gender identification.
The government's Aadhar program, started in 2009 that gives each citizen a unique ID number, now recognizes "transgender."
![[Bregs]](/data/avatars/m/148/148509.jpg?1491816884){kind=avatar}
