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The Hijras of India
This appeared in the Fairfax media this morning, regarding the Hijras of India – India’s transgender community.
http://www.theage.com.au/multimedia/national/the-hijras-of-india/20110107-19i09.html
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2 Replies
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An interesting video Louisa, I’m glad that my life isn’t like that too. I think that in a lot of respects we are in a “lucky country”.
Peta A.
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I agree Peta.
Having travelled through India a number of times I am quite enamoured with the country. It has a certain mystique and atmosphere, although it can be really hard travelling.
There are so many different layers to the place.
The saddest part for me about this story was the fact the the Hijras traditionally have been viewed in a very spiritual sense, possessed of powers and mystique that comes from living across the gender divide. However, their spiritual place in society has been eroded, and they are now increasingly reiant on sex work to survive. It seems tragic that this is where they are finding where they can be tolerated in Indian sopciety after a history of being regarded with a mystique and also being sought after as entertainers.
