What is Hijra? – Jogappas parading on streets, in female clothes

When foreign visitors, such as me, visit Karnataka, they usually only see Bangalore, Coorg, Mysore, the erstwhile capital of Karnataka, Belur, and Helebid, all of which are located in the Hassan district of Karnataka, and then leave. Mandya, Karvar, Shimoga, Kolar, and other areas are frequently overlooked. However, I decided to include Belgaum and Bellary … Read more

What is Hijra? – My First Encounter with Hijras (2)

I continued my trip and traveled to the southern states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. My first destination in South India was Bangalore, Karnataka’s cosmopolitan and urbane capital. Bangalore—Silicon India’s Valley—appeared to be one of the most sophisticated cities in the country, with its pub culture, large immigrant population, and IT companies. It was … Read more

Hijra – Discrimination by State and Society

On April 15th 2014, the Supreme Court passed a verdict saying it recognizes the three million and odd people belonging to the transgender group in India. It ordered the government to provide transgender people with jobs and education as well as certain other amenities.

Yet, in spite of the verdict, not all government and private forms have the option of ‘T’ on them, leading to a lack of opportunities for the hijras in education and employment. The lack of recognition of the third gender has lead to a difficulty in procuring passports, ration cards, driving licenses and the newly introduced adhar card.

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