Hijras: the third gender

Once during our field interviews, we came across some guests of a client who played some traditional instruments and sang for us.


Ryan if you are reading this post; remember our discussion on the third gender and how they are outcasted and  confined to the fringes of the society in very specific professions. 

  

I recorded this video while they sang for us. The three musicians in the back are men but the two singers in the front are hijras. 

The hijras (meaning eunuch or hermaphrodite) are an ancient community in the Indian subcontinent; now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan. They are classified as the third gender, an identity separate from men and women, considered neither completely male nor completely female, also having their own specific gender role. Some hijras are born with intersex variations, others could be physiological males who have adopted female gender identities. Few also have been converted into eunuchs by emasculation or castration of their genitalia. 

Once they used to have a high status in society but the British rulers in colonial India stripped the hijras of the laws that granted them the protection they received under Mughal rulers and regarded them as a menace to society. Now most hijras live at the margins of society with very low status, mostly sex-workers or low level entertainment artists performing at functions. They are rejected by their families and are the victims of extreme social ostracism. Few employment opportunities are available to them. Many get their income from sex work, performing at ceremonies, or begging. Violence against hijras, especially hijra sex workers, is brutal. And as with the transgender people in most of the world, they face extreme discrimination in health, housing, education, employment, immigration, law, etc.

For the past 20 years, many NGOs and hijras themselves have been working and lobbying for their rights especially for official recognition as the third gender. A remarkable step has been taken for the welfare of this marginal community by the Chief justice of Pakistan in Dec 2009 when he ordered that national ID cards be issued to the members of the hijra community showing their distinct gender. 

The tong, you see in the picture is a traditional percussion instrument in South Asia. It is generally 2.5  to 4 feet long and is used individually or in combination with other musical instruments for bhangra music or folk songs.