Ignorance Is Not Bliss
We thank you for your interest in us. We would like to introduce ourselves and help you know us better. We wish that you walk with us, support us and for that it is important that you understand us.Our Identity
Anatomical Sex
Gender Identity
Gender Expression
Attraction
Transgender Persons
Intersex Persons
Cisgender
A term used to describe people who are not transgender, those whose gender identity is aligned with the one they are assigned at birth.
Genderfluid
Gender Dysphoria
In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association released the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) which replaced the outdated entry “Gender Identity Disorder” with Gender Dysphoria, and changed the criteria for diagnosis. Gender dysphoria is a conflict between the individual’s assigned gender and the gender with which the individual identifies.
Our Names
Hijra
According to the 2014 NALSA judgement, hijras are biological males who reject their masculine identity and identify either as women, or “not men”, or “in-between man and woman” or “neither man nor woman”. However, intersex people are also a part of hijra gharanas. In India, hijras tend to identify as a community with its own initiation rituals and professions (like begging, dancing at weddings or blessing babies). They even have their own secret code language, known as Hijra Farsi, which is derived from Persian and Hindustani.Kinnar
The term for hijras in north India. Aravani: The term for hijras in Tamil Nadu. The meaning of the term ‘Aravani’ literally means a person who worships Lord Aravan. It is an ethno-religious group.Shiv-Shakthis
Typically referring to a community of trans people in Andhra Pradesh who are ‘married to’ the gods, particularly Lord Shiva. They work typically as astrologers or spiritual healers. The ethno-religious group is guarded by gurus who induct disciples and train them for the work.Transman
A transman is a man who was assigned female at birth. The label of transgender man is not always interchangeable with that of transsexual man, although the two labels are often used in this way. Many trans men choose to undergo surgical or hormonal transition, or both to alter their appearance in a way that aligns with their gender identity. Trans men are often termed as the minority within the minority, because the narrative around the trans experience is centred around trans women. While hijras have a community, a safe space that they can turn to, trans men often do not have one and don’t know others experiencing Gender Dysphoria like they are. Violence and corrective rape are common among trans men in India, but The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 only mentions the word ‘trans-man’ once and does not address any specific issues that the community faces. Government officials have often refused to change a transman’s sex in their documentation because according to them, the rule only applies to the Hijra community.Kothi
The judgement describes kothis as a heterogeneous group, because it refers to cis men who show varying degrees of being effeminate. They prefer to take the feminine role in same-sex relationships, though many kothis are bisexual. Some hijras identify as kothi as well, while not all kothis identify as hijra or even transgender. They do not live in separate communities.Jogti/Jogtas and Jogappas
In Maharashtra and Karnataka, jogtas and jogtis refer to male and female servants who dedicate (or are made to dedicate) their lives to gods in different temples. They refer to male-to-female trans people who devote themselves to the service of a particular god. Shubha Chacko from Solidarity Foundation says that most Jogti/Jogtas and Jogappas do not identify as hijras. In fact, there is a danger of the hijra identity wiping out other identities.Our Cultural History
In Indian mythology, trans people are found in various Hindu texts, such as the Mahabharata -Arjuna cross dressing as the teacher Brihannala, the change in Shikhandi’s gender, Ardhanarishvara as the androgynous composite form of Shiva and Parvati. In some versions of the Ramayana, there are references to King Ila who spent half of his life as a man and the other as a woman. There are mentions of trans people in the Kamasutra, an ancient Indian Hindu text about human sexual behaviour, and they can also be identified in ancient Hindu temple carvings.
Today, in certain parts of India, trans people hold the position of blessing newborn children and newlyweds- this is called badhai. However, in Kerala and in the North-East this is not a common practice among trans women. Their semi-divine status today is owed to a popular tale from the Ramayana, where Lord Rama, a major Hindu deity, blessed trans people since they waited for him for the entire period of his exile. Many trans people refer to this tale to emphasize their value and status in society. Trans people in India have a recorded history of nearly 4000 years. They were known to have played a role in the Ottoman Empire and Mughal empires in medieval India. They held important positions in court such as those of generals, administrators, and advisors. Many travelers have documented the elevated status of trans people in the Mughal empire, specifically in harem management. They also guarded the tomb of the Prophet according to the British traveler Eldon Rutter’s travelogue in 1925.
Unfortunately, the British era Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 persecuted trans people and relegated them to the margins of society. The Act pronounced the entire community of Hijra persons as innately ‘criminal’ and ‘addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences’. The Act mandated the registration and surveillance of trans people, and they could be arrested without warrant, sentenced to imprisonment up to two years, fined or both. However, we believe that our country is uniquely positioned at this moment in time to correct history after decades of persecution and this paper is a humble attempt in this direction.
Societal Challenges
Despite this tumultuous legal scenario, there are trans people trailblazing and lending visibility in several walks of life in contemporary India.
Discrimination by the family
Gendered expectations from children lead to trans children being scolded, abused and even assaulted by their family members. Due to shame and disgust, parents may even disown or evict their child, fearing for their marital prospects and the continuance of their family line. A study by the National Institute of Epidemiology surveyed 60,000 transgender people across 17 states, including Tamil Nadu. It found that a large percentage of the population received no support from their biological family. To exacerbate this problem, the 2016 Bill doesn’t recognize families of adoption that often keep trans children safe from violence and requires that a trans child stay with their natal family
Poor literacy
Formal education is also hard to come by due to severe bullying and teasing making studying impossible in school. The 2011 census data revealed that 48% of the trans population was literate and that 58% dropped out of school before the 10th grade. Anjali Gopalan of Naz Foundation says these numbers are unsurprising due to the amount of discrimination and harassment trans students face.
Issues relating to gender affirmation surgery
A lack of family support, financial support, and educational background leads transwomen into the jamaat system, where they might take up sex work due to its income generating capacity. The jamaat system is a cohabitating system for transwomen that proves to be a support system. Moreover, one of the reasons reported by hijras for taking up sex work is to save money to undergo gender affirmative surgery. Since private facilities are unaffordable, individuals often go to unqualified doctors - and yet the cost of that is about 10,000 rupees. This may be paid for by the hijra guru. Individuals often go to the senior hijra (dai amma) for this procedure as well. Urological complications such as fistulas and urethral obstructions arise from these unofficial procedures. And yet, these gharanas provide trans women with a safe space where people understand their needs – this is why it proves difficult to bring them into mainstream employment channels.
Violence and societal rejection
One of the biggest perpetrators of violence against the community are the police and law-enforcing authorities. The 2011 census revealed that 52% of trans people surveyed face violence from the police. Violence and extortion is often experienced by trans people in sex work by clients and even the police due to the criminalisation of sex work in the country. In reality, even trans people who are not soliciting are thought to be involved with sex work and are arrested by the police - this does not require a warrant to arrest or search. Anti-beggary laws also penalize traditional livelihoods of the trans community. The Indian government publishes annual statistics about crimes against men and women, but it doesn’t do the same for trans people. A survey conducted by the Swasti Health Resource Centre (a Bengaluru-based non-profit group) interviewed 2169 trans people from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It revealed that 40% of trans people have experienced sexual abuse in India before turning 18. It begins as early as age 5, and continues even after childhood. Spouses/partners are also perpetrators of violence towards a trans person - they are often not seen as victims of domestic abuse.
Our Legal Challenges
What did the 2016 Bill get right?
The Bill penalizes violence against the transgender community, disallows discrimination in employment, recruitment and promotion and declares them as a backward class.From 2016 and 2017, trans collectives deposed in front of a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice about the ways in which this version of the bill is inadequate. As of December 2018, the Bill was set to be re-introduced in Parliament after incorporating most of the recommendations made by the Standing Committee report of July 2017 - such as changing the definition of ‘transgender’. However, it still remains silent about reservations and the right to partnership and marriage.
The above section has excerpts from A Manifesto for Trans Inclusion in the Indian Workplace BY NAYANIKA NAMBIAR WITH PARMESH SHAHANI, December 2018, Godrej Culture Labs. We thank them for their support.