South Asia’s Hijra Community.

The Indian transgender community, known as the Hijras, have been a part of the subcontinent since the beginning of its civilisation and are officially recognised as a third gender. They have been mentioned on various occasions in ancient literature, with the earliest mention of them be found in the “Kama Sutra”, written in the 4th century CE, where they were referred to as the third sex.

While Hijras enjoyed a high status during the Mughal empire, holding religious authority and sought out for blessings, with the rise of the British colonial rule over India, they were labelled as a “criminal tribe”. In an attempt to eradicate them, they were forced under compulsory registration, strict monitoring, and stigmatisation. The presence of these individuals was seen as “public indecency” and a sign of the city’s depravity. While the Criminal Tribes Act 1871 has long been repealed, the stigma continues.

Now, most Hijras live in organised and well-defined “All-Hijra” communities, led by a guru. At the margins of community with an exceptionally low status, they suffer many human rights abuses. With very few employment opportunities available to them, many get their income through extortion (forced payment by disturbing work/life using demonstrations), performing at ceremonies, begging, and sex work. They face extreme discrimination in health, housing, education, employment, immigration, law, and any bureaucracy that is unable to place them into male or female gender categories. The word “Hijra” itself is sometimes used in a derogatory manner.

I remember when I was 10 years old at my cousin’s house with the rest of our family after her wedding. Knowing there was a wedding in the household, a group of Hijras knocked on our door to come to dance and perform for us, and would not leave until they were given saris, ornaments, and money as payment. The kids were quickly hushed back into the house, as if even a glance at them would taint us. The villainisation of a community as old as our civilisation itself is something we, as a society, still need to unlearn.