Research on Hijra Community
We know a community is a group of people who work with one another building a sense of trust, care, and support. In Bangladesh Hijra community is a strong community, although they are the most neglected people in our society. Higras are the people who are neither male nor female. In our society they are not treated as human being but hijras claim that they are more capable than men or women. Because they are the combination of both male and female, they are capable of doing the work, which is preferable by men and women.
Their demand from society is not so much; they just want to be treated as normal human being and the basic human needs. The movie is a reflection of androgen’s life cycle. Androgens were look like men but dressed up like women. So that people teach them and never showed a minimum respect for them. There was one leader of their community who instructed others. One of the characters of this movie was “Shusmita”. Her parents left her to the hijra community because they think that it was very ashamed things for them that their child was hizra.
Shusmita had a male friend named “Shonjoy” who was also betraying her. After that she felt that there was no meanings of her life for exist. Then she committed suicide. Another character of this film was “Babu”. The hizra community called her “Bably”. She always missed her family but if she came home she has been beaten by her brother. Here it is clear that people always keep negative impression about them no matter how hizra communities behave. They collect money from market to survive because societies people never give them work. The most painful part of the movie was people don’t want to entomb hizra with them.
This movie focused that androgen people could never have the respect either mortal life or eternal life. In childhood if a boy prefers to play with girls, wear female clothing, and household chores then the family members are not take it negatively. Gradually family members notice something goes wrong with their child. Family members felt uncomfortable when the society started to realize the feminine behavior of the boy and comment roughly. There are some families whom are left their child to maintain the social status.
But some family kept them. The boy gradually grown up but he cannot change himself because he starts to discover himself that he neither boy nor a girl but a mix of both. He falls into identity crisis as they find feminine emotions trapped inside a manly body. They don’t treat as human because they don’t have any rights, like they cannot take part in the burial of their parents. Lots of situation like this force him to join a hijra community. Over there they find friends like them, so they don’t feel loneliness anymore, and the guru of the community became their parents.
She named them newly like “Salam” become “Salma”. They get their livelihood and security with and through the community. They swing between both sexes: hijras as “asexual others” There are two types of gender male and female, which are classified by our society. But there is another type called “Hijra” whom is clam that they are third gender. Hijra of Bangladesh defines them as human who are neither male nor female. They can be easily identified by their get-up, language and a very different style of clapping. They developed a distinctive lifestyle gradually.
They formed as a community with strong sense of social solidarity. Hijra society of Bangladesh divided into several bands but there is a strong unity and coordination among them. Through every community have separate area, they often visit another community and they welcomed with warmly and greatly treated because hijra society is very hospitable. Hijras are mostly illiterate, jobless and homeless. They can barely manage food for survival or see a good doctor for checkup. They have no stable flow of income. In India hijra have a high income rather than Bangladesh.
But in our country hijras are fighting hard to survive. They sing and dance for new born baby; they also collect money from market places. If our mainstream society accepts them as normal human being they can seek for new sources of income.
Then she told us about their leader on the Rayer Bazaar hijra community who takes care of her as like her child. The leader decided the role of each member and the leader was selecting by concerning their age no matter how active she works. She told us that they dance and sing on society’s birthday party and marriage ceremonies but basically they collect money from market to survive. Then she told that the existence of the society is very tough and painful for her because she always asked herself that who wanted to bag people for money or forced them for giving money for free, her answer is may be no one.
It proves that she also have a very strong self-respect. They just don’t understand that it is not any diseases but hormone problem so why people looking at them very oddly with negative point of view. One of the most important things about their community was although they know that they were HIJRA but they didn’t like that word. Then she smilingly told us that she can handle any kind of problem easily because she has the ability of both male and female. She and her friends can maintain any situation by herself without any help of other by showing their disability approach or brain.
This was the main strength of their community that without any political or social backup they live their life with each other. There are different kinds of hijra of their community who belong various religions like Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and Buddha etc. They celebrate their religious occasion like other people of society. Bala is a Hijra (androgen), who is a member of Rayerbazer hizra community. The size of the community is large, where 65 people live together. They have a leader in this community who is the eldest person of the community, they call her khala, and she plays a vital role in the community.
She did not born in the community, she was borrowed from her family when she was 6 years old. Her family doesn’t try to bring her back or stay connected with her. They don’t take any baby because they think if their next baby born as hijra. She told the community has a strong network through they get the news of new hijras. Hijras are easily identifiable because of their nature and attitude. Where all the members along Bala collect money shops and give them all to khala, khala ensure the livelihood for all the members. The brotherhood is so strong between them, if anyone faces any problem everyone comes forward to help.
The strength of the community is one for all, all for one. But they never have the happiness of family. They want life partners but that is quite impossible. Her demand from the society is everyone should treat them like a normal human being. Sometime they committed suicide because they cannot handle the way they are treated. She don’t like to collect money from other, she claims that “I can do any work, like others I also have hands and those are strong. We are not useless; we can contribute for the country. We just need opportunity. ” They work as the entertainer of the society. But they don’t want to be the clown of the society.
They don’t want to live by begging from others. She don’t like the way people look at her. People called her Hijra, which is very painful to her. She wants to known by her name. She came from a Muslim family and still maintains her religion. Like her other members of different religion live together without facing any problem. Case Study-3 Hanna is a member of Keranigonj Hijra community. First time when I saw her she was in a barber shop. She seemed very friendly. I took a short discussion with her. The community where she lives is not a large one. The community is leaded by her guru.
She come into this community when she was 12 years old. Her family was ashamed of her. She left her family because of the torture of her father and some of the members of that community offer to join them. Here she found family, friend, food and shelter. After 13 years she is holding a important position in the community. They basically collect money from the local markets and shops. They also participate in the dance of marriage and puja. When they got any information about new born baby they go and dance for money. When I asked about the problem that she faced, she replied there is problem in every aspect of the life of a hijra.
One of the problems is people react very oddly when they saw a hira. She said they look like they saw an alien on the street. She handles this problem very interestingly; that she thinks that she is a beauty queen and no one can took their eyes off her. Although they are very confident about themselves but they need the support of their community to survive in the society. People don’t respect them as human being but they have more attachments and feelings, moreover they are very religious. As they are also living human being, they want the basic human needs from society.
They want to get out of their traditional lifestyle. They want to live in normal human society as a normal human being. They want to work for the society as well as for the country. They are strong and there is no doubt about it, because their community is surviving without any political and social backup. Above all it can be say that hijra community who demand themselves as third gender also part of our society. They want nothing but the minimum respect for them and basic rights by which they can survive. If our society provides them chance to do something for betterment they can prove themselves as an asset.
We all should help them to develop their community as well as our society by providing the facility which they deserve. It is the right time to change our point of view to them so that they can turn their weakness into strength by serving our country and never hesitate to think that they are also a part of our society. Government should also help them by making laws and policies by serving them with their rights.
