by Nick Gier, Idaho State Journal, December 10, 2021
“Seldom our society realizes the trauma, agony and pain which the members of the transgender community undergo. They are human beings, and they have every right to enjoy their human rights.”
— Indian Justice K. S. Radhakrishnan
In the film Bride and Prejudice a group of hijras (trans women) dance and sing at an Indian wedding. The lyrics of one song went as follows: “Who can tell you more about Yin & Yang?/Sharing one spirit between woman and man/Marriage is the path taken by he and she/May your new life be kissed by harmony.” They seem to be saying that it is only they who know what it is to be man and woman.
Crashing a New Delhi Wedding
In December 1999, I attended a wedding in New Delhi at which everyone was having a grand time. At the stroke of midnight, three hijras appeared and went directly to the two honored fathers. Shocking to me at least, they engaged in no dancing, singing or blessing as per centuries of tradition, but only pure extortion.
The fathers proceeded to hand out 100-rupee notes (then worth $2.50) until they thought the amount was sufficient. The hijras were not pleased, and one of them started to undress. The fathers continued to empty their wallets until the uninvited guests finally left with a sizable booty.
Wide Acceptance of Trans People
After centuries of oppression, many hijras are lashing out, and South Asians are now showing a surprising amount of acceptance for them. Muslim Bangladesh saw its first transgender news anchor; a very successful Tamil TV show for youth is led by a hijra; conservative Muslim Pakistan opened its first school for them; in 2015 a hijra was elected mayor in the Indian city of Raigarh; and the Indian Parliament now has its first transgender member.
Infants of Indeterminate Sex
Living at the margins of society, especially after the coming of the British, hijras have played one significant role in Indian society. Giving birth to infants of indeterminate sex brings great shame to families, and, in many instances, they are left on the streets or in the fields. If hijras find them or if others offer them, hijras adopt them as their own.
In previous times hijras blessed newborns in home rituals, and the parents “honored” the hijras for taking any bad karma that the infants had accrued during past lifetimes. Parents paid not only for their performances, but also gave infants of indeterminate sex to the visitors, who then made them part of their community. They were made female and sometimes, before safe surgeries were available and affordable, the primitive operations were not very successful.
British Called Them Sex Criminals
Colonial India included both Pakistan and Bangladesh, and it was the British who re-labelled hijras as “eunuchs,” condemned them as members of a “criminal tribe,” and unsuccessfully banned their public performances. They also forbade them from living with children and dressing in women’s clothes.
The British also criminalized non-heterosexual relations with the ugly word “sodomy.” It was only recently that these laws were abolished in India, and the hijras are now officially recognized as a third gender in all three countries. The hitch, however, is that they have to prove that they have had gender reassignment surgery, something that many hijras reject and/or have no funds to undergo.
Centuries of Religious Acceptance
Hijras are mentioned positively as the “third sex” in the 2,000-year-old Kama Sutra, and as professional dancers and singers, they have performed at births, weddings and other occasions for centuries. They quote scripture where the Hindu god Rama gave his blessings for their chosen profession. Equally significant, Arjuna, the hero of the Bhagavad-gita, assumes the identity of a hijra while in exile. The god Krishna once took on the guise of a woman in order to marry a man.
Even with discrimination and wide-spread bias, most hijras have made a living for themselves and have built temples for their patron goddess. Always dressed in beautiful saris and made up meticulously, they hold annual beauty pageants. Sadly, however, far too many have become beggars and prostitutes. Tragically, they have the highest rate of HIV-AIDS in Pakistan.
Surprising Muslim Acceptance
It is especially surprising to see how the trans people are so readily embraced by South Asian Muslims — 598 million among 1.2 billion Hindus, Christians and Sikhs. (Major exceptions are militant Muslims influenced by ISIS and Al Qaeda.) The Muslim rulers of the Mughal Empire in the 15th-19th centuries hired hijras to guard their harems, and they rewarded them with prominent positions in government.
In 2016, a group of Pakistani Muslim clerics ruled that hijras could marry and could also be buried in their cemeteries. Muslim Bangladesh now gives tax breaks to firms who hire them. About 3 million Christians live in Pakistan and their hijras (called khwaja saras there) are allowed to have their own church.
Not All Accept the Term “Transgender”
While many trans South Asians have embraced the term “transgender” and some have undergone gender reassignment surgery, others, typically from the lower classes, reject the term as a foreign import. These hijras reject the idea of transitioning and they also do not seek reassignment procedures. Significantly, the traditional hijra community does not accept trans men or even trans women who have not undergone proper religious initiation.
God Made You This Way
One writer states: “Many South Asian Muslims believe that if God made the body a certain way, his followers must accept it. Being born intersex—unlike being gay—therefore breaks no religious codes.” Contrary to wide-spread misconception, we now know that being gay or lesbian is not a choice. But please note the irony: Muslims will accept hijras but not gay men.
One of the most gratifying moments of my teaching career happened during a panel discussion on LGBTQ rights on my campus. I read the passages in Genesis that declare that what God created was “good” or “very good” (1:9, 24, 31). I then assured any Jew or Christian in the audience that their scripture holds that no one is born irredeemable.
A young man came up to me afterwards and said the he was a gay Christian. He confessed that he had struggled with his identity for many years, and, that after my talk, he now felt reconciled to his faith and his sexual orientation. I’m now glad to learn that many South Asian Muslims embrace these good people for the very same biblical reason.
Nick Gier of Moscow taught religion and philosophy at the University of Idaho for 31 years. He was coordinator of religious studies from 1980 to 2003. Read his article “The Real Meaning of Sodomy” at nfgier.com/the-real-meaning-of-sodomy/. Read other articles at nfgier.com. Email him at ngier006∂gmail.com.