All these years I and my team wrote hundreds of articles on different topics and  issues. For the first time in my life, I am coming out with content, which is thought provoking and which proves how worst, we Humans are towards other Human Beings on this planet;

I want people to read this and change their mindset. I want to add that if you have any Hijras in the family, don’t be ashamed and support them.

I would like to dedicate my blog to a group of people called Third Sex on the planet, who are probably the most harmless beings, but yet are probably more feared than the terrorists. Yes I’m talking about the ‘Hijras’… When we spoke to them for the first with heart, tears rolled down on my cheeks by listening to their talk about their sufferings.

In our daily life we see Hijras on roads, near shopping malls, near temples, in trains, on streets, etc begging for money. Many of us scared to talk, to walk, to sit, to see, to hear, and even to feel their presence. Many times I too felt the same, till I came to know about their struggle to survive on this earth. Some people snap at them and use abusive words towards them… It’s not their fault that they are the way they are or that they haven’t fully been accepted in society.

When I was in northern part of India I have seen many people considering Hijras as superior humans.

It is believed that their blessings are very good for us and at the same time their curses are equally bad.

This belief makes some orthodox families to invite Hijras to special occasions like weddings, naming ceremonies and so on. In those occasions Hijras come in groups, sing, dance, perform rituals and bless everyone there.

When it comes to Southern part, its quiet opposite. Hijras are often referred to as members of the ‘3rd gender’ in India. They themselves will describe their sexual identity as being neither male nor female.

They are usually rejected for what they are and the way they live. Still, they are tolerated when they show up uninvited at special ceremonies such as births and weddings where they cash in for performing dances and blessings.

I personally spoke to few Hijras  when I went to Tamil Nadu with my team on a Training Program, whom I met in my life. I requested if I could get to know “how do they actually lead their life? What is their life story?”

It was a collection of Interviews that I done with Hijras in the recent past, when I met them on roads, trains, near shopping malls and the points from Revathis book;

“The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story”.

The book is an eye opener to all the Homo sapiens.

The book is all about the life of an Hijra who was dragged into sexual work, to meet her basic needs. It’s really a touching story which make the readers to think for a while.

In their words……

“Please give us a chance to express our pain, problems; ill-treatment’s that we are facing in this, so called Human Society. We are going through a lot of physical and emotional turmoil and led a life full of questions and uncertainty.

Facing Challenges at every step and rudeness of society forced us to live an unimaginable, painful life constantly under fear of violence as some of us made a living by begging and sex work. We fear to think of a life beyond begging and sex-work because it earns our livelihood.

In our society, Hijras have always been looked with suspicion, ridicule and fear.

There are few people who support us occasionally; they are

    Political parties.

     Media.

     Mean Humans.

. Political parties support us, because they know very that, we have Right to Vote and they have Right to Beg for those votes.  They give lot of lectures about welfare of Hijras during elections, that’s it.

. Media supports us, because they want publicity and they need their own ratings. They interview us, they show us to the world for their own benefit.

. There are few people, who even  force us to sleep with them, for satisfying there sexual wishes and needs. We used to feel, that we are really fortunate because, we don’t behave like human animals.

Several men made bold to touch us, on our backs, on our shoulders. Some attempted to grab our breasts. ? Original or duplicate? They shouted and hooted.

People used to ask out loudly? Some out of curiosity, others out of malice? Whether we were men or women or? Number nines? Or devadasis. At such moments we felt despair and wondered if there would ever be a way for us to live with dignity and make a decent living.

We were born as Hijras; it’s not our choice or our mistake, simply its creation. We too have feelings but right from our parents to the world, nobody understands us except the ones like us. When my parents came to know I was Hijra, they sent me out of house. At that time one Human God took me into his arms. At that small age I don’t know what to call him, he said “I am your father, I feel happy if you can call me Father”.

All these years no one listened my hearts cry, except my god i.e. My Father. He was truly one in a Hundred million and I’m so lucky to have had him as my Dad.

It’s been an emotional journey all these years. Reliving the pain and torture was never easy. We want to let the society know about our life and the hardships borne by us.

We are neither men nor women. We have families and we also started going to school, but when we understood that we were both boys and girls we have left everything. For this reason now we live in a group. We are not Christian, Muslim or Hindu, we are all united. Each one is free to follow their religion. We all eat in the same dish. On the road we behave differently with you, but our house is easier to talk and we are more sociable.

We don’t feel neither men nor women. We don’t have a proper lively hood; we go on stores and take clothes and food without paying. We also do street collections. Few give us clothes, food, money. Now it is harder for us to live. Many think that, we are prostitutes with HIV; nobody passes the medicine, the care. Even doctor’s they don’t help us at all. Some of us die because we do not have medicine.

There are many fake Hijras too…silly boys trying to make a quick buck off the back of someone else’s unfortunate circumstances.

If we could be reborn, we would like to have birth as a Hijra, because.

a. We don’t know politics of life.

b. We don’t  know how to bluff own people.

c. We  know how to give pain to everyone.

d.We  don’t know how to trouble parents.

e.We are not greedy for wealth.

f.We live in what we have, if possible we help others.

g.We dont fight for power.

h.We don’t go in wrong path, to pursue name & fame.

i. In us fathers don’t  know how to sexually harass own daughters.

j.We don’t  know how to kill parents for property.

k.We don’t know how to fight for separate states.

l.We don’t  know how to play wife lives of people showing love.

m.We don’t know how to leave life partners, by getting attracted to new ones.

o.We don’t know how to share our life partner with friends.

p.We don’t know how to fight for separate states.

q. We don’t know how to show community feeling.

r. We don’t know how to through away new born babies.

s. We don’t are not alcoholics or womanisers who disregard their family.

t. We don’t know how to show-off.

u. We don’t know how to rob from the public.

v. We don’t know how to kill our parents for property.

w. We don’t even know how to trouble Hijras.

like this there are many more, which we Hijras don’t know

Without knowing all these, how can we expect to have birth as Normal Humans like you all.

The only thing that we know is, to silently bear the pain.

I am sorry to say …..All you Humans are very educated, advanced, intelligent, successful, rich with name & fame, but without minimum morals, courtesy, care and concern towards the fellow human beings.

Really we are scared of you Humans. Please give us a chance to live, we like to live. Don’t kill us or make us kill ourselves with your words, actions, behavior. Please……… give us chance to live on this planet.

Our Sincere Request to All Civilized Humans:

1. Please when ever we stretch our hand for help, if possible help us, because we don’t have any one else.

2. When we are diseased please provide medicine.

3. Let our children go to schools like your children.

4.We too expect some entertainment, So when we come to theaters or public places, don’t abuse us or hit us.

5.Don’t criticize or comment us with bad words, because we too have Heart.

6.When we are starving for food, please provide us with the food, that you leave away.

7. Finally, When we die please provide 6 feet land, to bury our dead bodies in the cremation ground.

Treat Hijras as normal human beings. Spare a thought and a smile to us; we expect nothing more from so called Humans.

If there is any mistake in our words, please forgive us. Sincere thanks to these students, who spoke to us with real heart. ……”

 

 Please feel free to share your story and any lessons you learned, you experienced, you came across in your life in the comments below.

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The information regarding the hijras were drawn from the books and articles of world famous bloggers.