There are approximately half a million hijras and other third gender individuals in India, plus smaller numbers in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. The hijra identity is a unique blend of biological, gendered, and sexual identities underpinned by religion and bound by a tight-knit social structure.
In an ethnographic study on the hijra experience in Bangladesh, many hijra recounted childhood experiences of facing abuse and isolation from their peers for presenting as feminine males.
While the third gender includes a few different groups in South Asia, the most common are the hijras. Hijras are often born male but look and dress in traditionally feminine ways. Many, but not all, choose to undergo a castration ceremony, removing their male genitalia as an offering to Hindu goddess Bahuchara Mata. Other hijras are born intersex.
Hijra is a term used in India and other parts of South Asia to describe male-to-female transgender individuals. Within Indian culture, hijras are considered a third gender that is neither male nor female. They inhabit a distinct social class that is largely separate from the rest of Indian society.
With a recorded history of over 4,000 years and being mentioned in ancient texts, the Hijra community is a testament to the sexual diversity that is integral yet often forgotten in Indian culture.
Hijras are performers at points in the life cycle related to reproduction, and thus much of their expressive culture employs fertility symbolism. Hijra performances are burlesques of female behavior.
In India, the Hijra community represents a unique and historically significant group with deep cultural and social ties to the country. Known for their distinctive identity, Hijras are often recognized as the third gender in Indian society, distinct from traditional male and female categories.