Saras World

"ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered authorities on Wednesday to allow transvestites and eunuchs to identify themselves as a distinct gender as part of a move to ensure their rights, a lawyer said. Known by the term "hijra" in conservative Muslim Pakistan, transvestites, eunuchs and hermaphrodites are generally shunned by society. They often live together in slum communities and survive by begging and dancing at carnivals and weddings. Some are also involved in prostitution." Read full article.

The meaning of the word "hijra", to it’s full range of definitions is surprising. Please view this wikipedia entry.

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guardian.co.uk

• New civil rights for Pakistan’s long-oppressed ‘wedding dancers’ offer hope of a better life
• A court ruling follows a bid to improve life for Pakistan’s impoverished transgender, transvestite and eunuch community