Talk:Hijra (South Asia)

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Wiki Education assignment: LGBTQ Reproductive Health[edit]

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 29 August 2022 and 21 December 2022. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Nishaptl (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by Nishaptl (talk) 15:36, 26 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Hijra is not transgender?[edit]

Many sources seem to note tha Hijra is not transgender, but "third-gender".

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/04/23/why-terms-like-transgender-dont-work-for-indias-third-gender-communities/

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20170720-the-semi-sacred-third-gender-of-south-asia

https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/religion-context/case-studies/gender/third-gender-and-hijras

Pinkslimo (talk) 01:04, 17 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

In both India and Pakistan "Transgender" is used as a legal term to encompass all gender minorities including intersex, third gender, and modern trans identities. See Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 & Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018. Anthroqueer (talk) 17:25, 13 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Officially recognised as a third gender?[edit]

The second paragraph of the lead says, 'Hijras are officially recognised as a third gender in the Indian Subcontinent', but the fifth paragraph states, 'Since the late 20th century, some hijra activists and non-government organizations have lobbied for official recognition of the hijra as a kind of "third sex" or "third gender", as neither man nor woman"'. Which claim is correct? JezGrove (talk) 12:30, 18 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@JezGrove: Both are correct. There is some official recognition, but the recognition is not equivalent to other genders. The situation is comparable to gender anywhere, for anything other than cis male/female. Bluerasberry (talk) 13:39, 18 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, Bluerasberry. In that case perhaps the wording could be tweaked to make that a little clearer? JezGrove (talk) 13:47, 18 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Hijra are recognized as a third gender by Transgender Persons (Protection_of_Rights) Act, 2019, which was passed in accordance with the Supreme Court declaring this to be the case in National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India. The New Statesman article used as a source for the claim that Hijra were given third gender status in 1994 is incorrect. The source claims this, but it is a misunderstanding of what happened. In 1994 Hijra in Delhi were given the right to self-declare binary gender on the voting register. This applied only in Delhi, did not allow for a third gender, and did not change their legal gender. It applied only to the voting list as an attempt to prevent discrimination limiting Hijra participation in elections. English language sources are scant on the internet given that this was a local government policy decision (not a law) from 1994, but this is the best I can find.
In my opinion, the NALSA v UoI ruling should be listed in "In politics in South Asia" section as should the Transgender Persons Act. It should be mentioned that the act resulted in significant protests and outrage from the trans/hijra community for various reasons including but not limited to surgery requirements, a lack of trans representation in the decision process, a lax sentences for crimes against trans people. Community reaction attested to here, here and here. Lead should be updated to clarify that while legal recognition exists its implementation is viewed as insufficient and discriminatory by the communities in question. Anthroqueer (talk) 19:42, 21 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hijras in literature[edit]

Why is "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness" by Arundhati Roy classified as "outside of the Indian subcontinent"? Arundhati Roy is Indian, she lives in India and the book is set in India. 194.45.94.30 (talk) 10:52, 8 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]