Hijras in Pakistan

In the culture of SOUTH ARISA, hijra  or khusra in Punjabi  are physiological males who adopt feminine gender identity , women's clothing and other feminine gender roles. They have a long recorded history in the Indian Sub-Continent, from the Mugal Empire period onwards. This history features a number of well-known roles within subcontinental Cultures, part gender-liminal, part spiritual and part survival.[Image]In Pakistan, many hijra live in well-defined, organized, all-hijra communities, led by a GURU. These communities have sustained themselves over generations by " adopting" young boys who are rejected by, or flee their family of origin. Many work as male Sex-Workers  for survival.The word hijra is Urdu, derived from the  Arabic Root  hjr in its sense of "leaving one's tribe, and has been borrowed into Hindi. The Indian usage has traditionally been translated into English as "eunuch" or " hermaphrodite", where "the irregularity of the male genitalia is central to the definition".  

However, in general the hijra are born with typically male  physiology, only a few having been born with male intersex variations.Historically, ceremonial initiation into the hijra community is said to have involved removal of a boy's Penis,testicles and scrotum, without anaesthetic, at or around puberty. However, according to Mumbai health organisation The Humsafar Trust, only eight percent of hijras visiting their clinic are nirwaan (Castrated).Since the late 20th century, some hijra activists and Western non-government  (NGOs) have been lobbying for official recognition of the hijra as a kind of "third sex" or "third gender", as neither man nor woman.

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Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org

Pakistan’s Supreme Court OKs Third Sex for Identity Cards (Reference:http://despardes.com )Pakistan’s Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry ordered the government on Wednesday to allow transvestites and eunuchs to identify themselves as a distinct gender as part of a move to ensure their rights. While hearing the case, the Chief Justice also advised the authorities to hire the services of the eunuchs to recover monies (Rs193 billion) loans from the bank loan defaulters – a practice, he said, already being followed in India! Known by the term “hijra” in Pakistan as well as in India and Bangladesh, transvestites, eunuchs and hermaphrodites are generally shunned by society nor do they enjoy any rights – legal, political human or even religious. They often live together in slum communities and survive by begging and dancing at carnivals and weddings. Some are also involved in prostitution. CJ Iftikhar ordered the authorities to issue national identity cards to members of the community showing their distinct gender and to take steps to ensure that they were not harassed. [Image]“The government’s registration authority has been directed to include a separate column in national identity cards showing them as hijras,” Mohammad Aslam Khaki, a lawyer for hijras told Reuters.    “By doing so, they think they will get a distinct identity and it will help them get their rights.” A hijra association welcomed Chaudhry’s order, saying it would ease their suffering. “It’s the first time in the 62-year history of Pakistan that such steps are being taken for our welfare,” the association’s president, who goes by the name Almas Bobby, told Reuters. “It’s a major step toward giving us respect and identity in society. We are slowly getting respect in society. Now people recognize that we are also human beings.” Khaki said the court also ordered the government to evolve a mechanism to ensure that hijras are not harassed and also take steps to ensure their inheritance rights. Hijras are often denied places in schools or admittance to hospitals and landlords often refuse to rent or sell property to them. Their families often deny them their fair share of inherited property. Hijras are both feared and pitied in Pakistan. They are feared for their supposed ability to put curses on people while they are pitied as they are widely viewed as the outcast children of Allah. 

The number of hijras in Pakistan is not known but community leaders estimate there are about 300,000 of them. In June, the Supreme Court ordered the government to set up a commission to conduct a census of hijras.