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Hijra sextually handicapped person who is either a hermaphrodite or an eunuch or of equivocal malformation, viewed as neither male nor female. A hijra usually wears the garb of a woman. There are mainly two types of hijras: one is natural and another is artificial. Medicine and comparative biology classify natural hijras into six divisions according to their physiological features, sex, and behaviour. Natural hijras are more or less the same all over the world. But artificial hijras show characteristics derived from local culture, norms, and social structure and economic conditions. Some hijras, called akua are physically male but mentally female. With training and education they may live a normal life. Another category of hijras is called jenana, who are in fact, normal males. To earn money they take to the life of hijras in disguise. The chhibry group comprises females who join hijra society for livelihood. They move with hijras in disguise. There are also man-made hijras called chhinni. They are the traditional eunuchs. In the past, these people were used as servants of the members of the harem. Even today they consider themselves to be servants. According to popular belief, hijras try to swell their group by kidnapping and castrating good looking male children. This assumption, however, is not supported by empirical evidence. Hijras are easily identifiable by their appearance and behaviour. They normally love feminine dresses and ornaments. They often wear false breasts and put on gaudy costume. Hijras are not temperamentally prepared to work and earn like normal workers. They have their own ways of earning their livelihood. Singing and dancing are the commonest sources of their income. They generally go to the marketplace in a group and collect tola (a handful of any item, mostly of grocery), for which they do not pay. In many traditional marriage ceremonies hijras are invited as merasin or comics. This traditional role of hijras is now disappearing fast. As demands for their services decline, many hijras are now turning to prostitution and smuggling. Though hijras are sexually handicapped, and try to establish themselves as asexual, they are passive partners of homosexuals. Moreover, the normal women who live with them as false hijras also tend to earn money by prostitution. There is no authentic statistics on how many hijras are there in Bangladesh. According to newspaper reports, their number varies from 30,000 to 150,000. Hijras get little sympathy from society. They are commonly subject to ridicule and rejection. Naturally, survival instincts make them live together as far as possible. They live in small groups each headed by a senior leader called Guru Ma, who trains the newly joined hijras to dance, to sing, and to use musical instruments. Hijras mainly live by amusing people. They are not keen about religion, though to make a living, they visit shrines and temples. In Bangladesh, hijras are free to enlist themselves as voters if they have an address and if they fulfil other constitutional requirements. [Mohammad Solaiman]
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