I - Introduction


II - Third Gender in the History


A. Origin roots from Greece
B. China – practice started
C. Mughal Empire; golden era of third gender
D. Decline during British Rule


III - Status of Third Gender in Islam


A. Division of gender in groups
B. Dealt with apparent traits of gender
C. Hadith
D. Surgery allowed making bodies in line with gender
E. Conference of Rulers in Malaysia
F. Decree of Al-Azhar


IV - Pakistani Society and Third Gender


A. Stigmatization (branded as disgraceful)
B. Social intolerance of third gender
C. Miserable life in Pakistan
D. Sources of income
E. Different belief about their birth
F. Denied Psychological and health assistance


V - Causes of dilapidated conditions in Pakistan


A. Women not successful so far
B. Alien attitude of the society
C. Unemployment attract youth to this community
D. Ignorance towards psychological healing
E. Fabricated attitudes of third gender
F. Inclusion into the institution of prostitution
G. Disapprobation and ¬discrimination
H. Engage inappropriate activities


VI - Orders of Supreme Court – a positive step in Pakistan


A. Protection from harassment
B. Giving proper identity
C. Ensure their civil rights


VII – Suggestions to uplift status of third gender


A. Change in social behavior
B. Opportunities for employment
C. Training institutes
D. Legislation and constitutional protection
E. Proper utilization of their skills
F. Right of inheritance
G. Gender status on CNIC
H. Responsibility of Parents
I. Public awareness


VIII – Conclusion






"We're sparrows of paradise, and they don't like us."
Third Gender referred as Hijra in Pakistani society i.e. eunuch or hermaphrodite. They consist of hermaphrodites and women generally unable to lead normal life, unable for marriage and producing children. Most of them are close to men but they prefer to be identified as feminine then masculine due to their inclination to lead a life of women. A sociologist describes them as “man minus maleness” and “man plus woman”.

Fake smile on their face, adorn themselves with kajal, makeup, lipstick, dressed in colorful saris, in a monstrous parody of women in a unique style, they roam the busy marketplaces in groups for their earnings. Shouting with the male voices, palms meeting crossways in a trademark clap, they prey on liable passersby, , who will part with their cash sooner to get rid of them.

Third Gender – mostly castrated male has a long history date back to 9th Century B.C. They were in popular demand to guard royal harems. The practice believe to have started in China, where eunuchs were entrusted with the task of protecting royal harem and similarly, they were preferred over other genders due to their weak characteristics and coward attitude. They were not expected for some kind of thread which could be vulnerable for the royal harem.

The golden era for third gender was during the time of the Mughal monarchs, from 1526 to 1857, when eunuchs and hermaphrodites oversaw the harem, often becoming key advisors. According to the modern generation, “our forefathers served the Mughals in the palaces, and people wanted to learn from them because they were great people". Their status deteriorated with the devastation of princely rulers and finally fettered to begging. By then the third gender is considered social outcasts, existing in a strange, and no man’s land.

After 1870, however, British morality laws such as the Criminal Tribes Act and the Dramatic Performance Act restricted the activities of hijra and their inheritance and other rights, tarring them as "sodomites." The British rulers in colonial India stripped the hijras of the laws that granted them the protection they received under Muslim rulers and regarded them as a menace to society.

In Muslim societies and cultures people are usually expected to behave in line with their biological sex (and/or attributed gender identity) and they are given a gender role in line with this: either male or female. For transgender people, as well as for people who are content with their gender identity but not with their gender role, these distinguished gender roles (constructed according to biological sex), are problematic.

There has been little scholarly work done in this area that is accessible. Some Muslim scholars have written about the division of gender in Islam in four groups: male, female, hermaphrodites (khunsa) and mukhannis. Mukhannis are biological males who identify as female and want a change of their biological sex. Mukhannas are biological males who assume a female gender role but do not wanr a change of their biological sex. The terms khunsa, mukhannis or mukhannas are not mentioned in the Qur'an.

There are hadith referring to men and women who do not behave in line with their prescribed gender role (e.g. a hadith in Sunan Abu-Dawud, (Bk. 32, No. 4087) referring to men who dress like women being cursed and a hadith instructing people to turn out of their houses effeminate men and women who assume the manners of men). However, as mentioned in the section on ‘Frameworks for Progressive Islam’ a number of scholars have exposed the problematic nature of Hadith as a source of Muslim laws.

In most Muslim laws and societies, transgender people who’s bodies have both male and female characteristics (hermaphrodites or intersex people), are allowed, or even encouraged, to undergo surgery to make their bodies in line with the sex and gender division into male or female. However, for transgender people who’s biological sex is female but who’s gender identity is male (and vice versa) and for those who do not identify as either male or female or as both, this is usually more complicated.

Specific directives regarding eunuchs have not been covered in the Islamic Shari‘ah. Muslim scholars can form an opinion on this matter keeping in view the spirit of the Shari‘ah. There are two major viewpoints regarding eunuchs. According to the first view, eunuchs will be dealt with according to their apparent traits of gender. If their physical traits relate mostly to males, for example having a beard, they would be considered male and vice versa. The proponents of the second view hold that the religious decrees, related with sex discrimination, are not applicable to them at all. This entails that they are not obligated to wear the hijab and other obligations of similar nature.

In 1983 the Conference of Rulers in Malaysia decided that a ban of ‘sex change operations’ should be imposed on all Muslims, except for hermaphrodites. Also, ‘cross-dressing’ was prohibited. In 1988 Al Azhar, the highest Sunni Islamic authority in Egypt, gave a religious (legal) decision (fatwa) regarding surgical treatment of intersexuals stating that ‘it is permissible to perform the operation in order to reveal what was hidden of male or female organs. Indeed, it is obligatory to do so with the reason that it must be considered a treatment’.

Apart from begging their sources of income are many. It's an age-old custom in the country to have third gender bless childbirths, weddings, housewarmings and other auspicious occasions. The eunuchs are believed to possess occult powers, and their blessings - and curses - are both considered potent.

They sing and dance and create a commotion outside the house until the mother has allowed them to look at the baby. Once they have blessed the child they demand exorbitant sums of money in lieu of their good wishes. The inspection also carries an ulterior motive. On rare occasions when the baby is born a eunuch, the hijras insist that the baby is given to them. Often, the families will comply to avoid humiliation in society, and the group will take the child away to their ghettoes to raise him as he should be: as one of their own.

Some believe they are simply born that way - males without the male genitalia - while others will tell you that they are really men who were forcibly castrated in their youth. Both views are true, though natural eunuchs are a very rare occurrence and castration isn't always by force. An `operation' as hijras call it, is cause for huge celebrations in the community. It is performed out of doors, and feasts, song and dance are rituals that attend the event, which is orchestrated by the head of the community known as Gurus.

Thereafter, the Guru takes over the proper upbringing of the newest member. Everything the young hijra learns about the clan's customs and traditions is at the feet the Guru. His adopted family of fellow hijras provides a loving environment and he is fed, clothed and looked after well until he too feels a sense of security and well-being.

Treatment of third gender in hospitals is an issue of great concern because whenever one is admitted in hospital, the doctors never know whether to place them in the male or female ward. They condemn all, men and women and refuse to join either team. There are frightened of our society due to the alien attitude of the people.

They are the creature of God if our society don’t accept hem, the fell the same in their group as if they are the same blood. They do everything to take care of one another. Hijra have long been stigmatized and subject to discrimination and abuse in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, with its rigorously defined roles for men and women.

People don't consider them as human beings. They don't like to eat with them, drink with them or shake their hands, but they are full citizens of Pakistan like everyone else. But behind the merriment, hijra life can be lonely and dangerous in a conservative society such as Pakistan. More so they are also denied health and psychological/ psychotherapeutic assistance.

Desperate and unemployed youth is attracted to hijra community to earn this easy money. Secondly, ignorance toward psychological healing of problems in most of the low class families led their children to take shelter in the so-called safe haven of hijra community. Selling of children to hijra community due to poverty is yet another important reason for becoming hijra.

Beside this, educated English speaking class of eunuch is enlarging in Pakistan. They do not face this treatment because of their social and economic status in the society. They become fashion designers, interior decorators, hair stylists’ etc. It is true that human psychology is a victim to the hegemony of heterosexual society contrived by culture and society. But it is also sarcastic to blame whole society wrong in its demeanor against hijras. They have their part in fabricating this attitude toward themselves.

A great number of them are turning to prostitution, which goes against the hijra ideal of asceticism. Although nascent legal status is a first step, social acceptance is likely to take far longer. But Police officers and residents often beat, harass, rob and sexually abuse them. A general concept in society is established that "They pollute people's morality." The stigma attached to them since then has left them increasingly vulnerable to theft, attack and abuse in Pakistan's male-dominated and often-feudal society.

Although most of them dress as women, they engage in activities that would be considered inappropriate for women of the subcontinent, such as dancing in public. They almost seem to be a caricature of women because hijras wear their hair long and wear saris and other traditional female dresses, whereas in modern society, the upper and middle class women cut their hair and wear more western clothes.

In a landmark decision in December, the Supreme Court ordered that they be protected from police harassment, be eligible for a separate gender category on ID cards and be recognized under inheritance laws. In addition to the order for government recognition, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry also issued a warning that the hijras' rights of inheritance, which are often informally ignored, would be enforced.

Pakistan's Supreme Court has issued a number of groundbreaking orders for the government and police to afford third gender the same civil rights as other citizens. Police have been warned to cease harassment and intimidation. Pakistan's national database and registration authority, which issues ID cards, has been told to research a third option under the "sex" column.

Some sociologists and legal experts have suggested that eligibility for new ID cards or other benefits might require a physical exam and test to avoid fake cases. Complex issues still need to be resolved, including inheritance, whether hijra merit special job or housing quotas, election registration and their gender status on ID cards. The should be actively involved for raising awareness about AIDS because it is reported most of them are HIV positive.

Third gender want to be decaled eunuchs, if they are eunuch, then eununch should be written instead of men according to their demand. When they are searched at the airport and their ID says male but wearing a dress of women, is disgusting and intolerable for them as well the authorities.
Parents should be very careful about the children showing deviant behavior. If a boy behaves in girlish manner, he should not be encouraged. Rather, should be taken to psychiatrist immediately for necessary treatment. Parents should have an active eye on the activities of their children reaching the age of adolescence. They should check the company their children keep.

Government should more actively approach to homosexuals and develop public awareness program to handle the issue. Moreover, there should be complete record of born third gender on district level. So that these third genders can either be provided financial help publicly to restrain them from falling in socially unacceptable activities or assigned them quota in employment.

They hope that one day they will recover their glory and prestige with the help of courts and media and become useful citizens of the country. Moreover, it is also the responsibility of the society to treat them as human beings and bring a change in their unfamiliar attitudes towards third gender. They must have the rights to survive in the society instead to lead a life in seclusion.

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