A major part of the Third Gender/ Transgender Population – the Hijra Community has been ostracised for a very long time. The society has either treated them as a boon or as a bane. The only time the society is happy to see them is when they come to celebrate your daughter’s wedding or at the birth of your son. Most other times, many of you simply roll up your car windows to avoid them when you spot them at traffic signals. All they have ever wanted is to be treated as normal human beings. They are no different from us when it comes to feelings, emotions and even looks.
We have hijra role models in today’s society, who defy the stereotypical image of the hijra that we have in our minds. Those who are well educated are doing meaningful community work. They are trying their level best to give to the community – theirs and ours. Right from Laxmi to Urmi ( Humsafar Trust) , to Abheena ( Pehchaan Project) to Simran ( featured in Satyamev Jayate), the hijra population has been walking towards the path of quality and has been supportive, not just to people of their own ilk, but also toward causes associated with heterosexual and homosexual fellow beings.
There is a new hope for the Hijra population, finally. After months of stalling in the Rajya Sabha, the Rights Of Transgender Persons Bill, which was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by Thiru Tiruchi Siva, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) from DMK, Tamil Nadu on December 12, 2014, our country’s upper House has finally given its consent to the bill and the manuscript is now being sent to the Lok Sabha for its approval too.
With the passing of this bill, development and welfare of transgender persons will become a national policy, which has to be undertaken by every state. It also calls for the state to address the problems faced by the transgender people like fear, shame, dysphoria, peer pressure, suicidal tendencies, etc. It actually sounds like a great deal for the third gender. This bill will give a great fillip to the cause of equality. It is a giant leap towards humanity.
With the bill is on its way to the Lok Sabha, we are now hoping, that #AccheDin will finally shine upon our third gender siblings
Image courtesy: BCCL
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