Walking with the Hijaras
"Third sex" people of India live in constant ridicule
Naru Narayanan, For The Mirror
Issue date: 3/4/09 Section: Perspectives
*Editor's Note: Naru Narayanan is a student from India who is studying integrated media at Drury for the next three years. Throughout this semester Naru will describe his native culture and share his international perspective with The Mirror.*
Is having a sex essential even when you are not having sex? A set of people are used for taking blessings, but not respected and accepted in the society, isn't it weird? Could you believe that those people are ill-treated and isolated because they don't have a fixed sex? "Hijaras," or eunchs, are the people who are known as third sex people. They are neither male nor female. There are more than half a million Hijaras in India. They are one of the leading suffering communities of India.
There are two kinds of Hijaras: one is born with a physical form of a Hijara, and the other simply feels like another sex. For the second kind, usually, at the age of 6 to 8, a man feels the sexual conflict. He is a male physically, but feels he is a female and behaves like a girl. The Hijaras (both physical and mental ones) leave their families and go in search of similar people because their family and friends are not ready to accept them, and they want to be with their kind of people.
They live together in groups in various parts of the country. Boys who feel they are girls gets his male genital parts chopped off (castrated) and becomes girls completely. This is done without anesthesia by many people as it is their tradition and belief. And others undergo a sex-change operation and gradually become girls. As they are not allowed to mingle with the general population, most of them are not educated and do not have good jobs. The Hijaras take up three kinds of occupations: dancing and singing in ceremonies, begging, and prostitution.
People believe that the Hijaras' blessings or curses are powerful and so invite them for marriages and child birth ceremonies to make blessings.
It is also believed that they possess some magical powers, but the Hijaras deny that. On one side, people call them for making blessings, but on the other hand, people ridicule, mock, and abuse them badly.
Is having a sex essential even when you are not having sex? A set of people are used for taking blessings, but not respected and accepted in the society, isn't it weird? Could you believe that those people are ill-treated and isolated because they don't have a fixed sex? "Hijaras," or eunchs, are the people who are known as third sex people. They are neither male nor female. There are more than half a million Hijaras in India. They are one of the leading suffering communities of India.
There are two kinds of Hijaras: one is born with a physical form of a Hijara, and the other simply feels like another sex. For the second kind, usually, at the age of 6 to 8, a man feels the sexual conflict. He is a male physically, but feels he is a female and behaves like a girl. The Hijaras (both physical and mental ones) leave their families and go in search of similar people because their family and friends are not ready to accept them, and they want to be with their kind of people.
They live together in groups in various parts of the country. Boys who feel they are girls gets his male genital parts chopped off (castrated) and becomes girls completely. This is done without anesthesia by many people as it is their tradition and belief. And others undergo a sex-change operation and gradually become girls. As they are not allowed to mingle with the general population, most of them are not educated and do not have good jobs. The Hijaras take up three kinds of occupations: dancing and singing in ceremonies, begging, and prostitution.
People believe that the Hijaras' blessings or curses are powerful and so invite them for marriages and child birth ceremonies to make blessings.
It is also believed that they possess some magical powers, but the Hijaras deny that. On one side, people call them for making blessings, but on the other hand, people ridicule, mock, and abuse them badly.
Article last update: 3/3/09 at 8:24 PM CST
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
DAVE
posted 5/25/09 @ 4:33 AM CST
hye,
i m dharmapal dave from mumbai would like to request you that we r a group of law student from india and we r going to file a case in court for hijaras right and its going to be a history. (Continued…)
Miami Movers
posted 7/16/09 @ 11:16 AM CST
It really seems unfair the way they are treated by mainstream society. It's unfortunate that people can't just learn to get along with all people.
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