Intersex, transgender, hijra: Gender identities we should educate ourselves on

Though hijra, intersex and transgender are often incorrectly used interchangeably, the terms actually stand for very different ideas of gender identity.

The concept of gender identity can be very fluid and context-dependent.

It can be a person's deeply-felt sense of being male, female, or another gender and it might be different from their biological sex.

This leads to gender dysphoria, a psychological condition that can be characterised as a sense of unease that a person feels because of a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity.

This is where the terms intersex, transgender and hijra come in.

Intersex is a term used to describe a variety of conditions in which an individual's reproductive or sexual anatomy isn't fully developed or doesn't fit typical definitions of male or female.

It can involve variations in chromosomes, hormones, or anatomy.

Intersex traits may not be immediately apparent at birth and may be discovered later in life.

Meanwhile, transgender is an umbrella term that refers to individuals whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth, shares Prof Kazi Ashraf Uddin, who is currently doing his PhD on gender politics and gender research methodology at the University of New South Wales, Australia.

A transgender person may identify as the opposite gender from the one they were assigned at birth.

For example, someone assigned male at birth may identify and live as a woman.

It is, however, not possible to generalise traits of gender identities as the spectrum of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning or queer) is very broad.

Also, anyone who goes through gender reassignment surgery to align their physical anatomy with their gender identity can be called transexuals.

In the context of Bangladesh, intersex individuals often opt for gender reassignment surgery in their childhood.

However, in case of adults suffering from gender dysphoria in Bangladesh, the scope of gender reassignment surgery remains unexplored.

Now for the term hijra – this cannot be explained through the physical anatomy of the person only as it entails a lot of cultural and spiritual aspects.

The term hijra is often used as an umbrella term for people who are born with both male and female genitalia, but identify more with the female gender.

"Though hijras can be broadly categorised as transgender for their identification with a gender with which they were not born, the term 'transgender' risks to erase a number of cultural, political and social nuances of the hijras," explains Prof Kazi Ashraf Uddin.

"Hijras are male-bodied female-identified individuals who belong to an alternative kinship pattern under a guru, go through ritualistic initiation into hijra community, belong to specific hijra spirituality, perform different culturally informed practices such as badhai and cholla and often speak a secretive coded language called Ulti."

While being initiated into the community they go through a sacred castration ritual (called nirvan or nirban), forsake all sexual desires as an offering to the guru and are blessed with the ability to bestow the gift of bearing children to others.

They bless people during their wedding or bless newborn babies in a ritual called Badhai.

However, there may be members of the hijra community who might not undergo this ritual.

Previously during the colonial period, the terms intersex and hermaphrodite were used to identify hijras, but it is considered offensive now as the terms do not justly explain the nuances of the hijra community.

In the western media, transgender and the third gender are used to signify hijras which keeps room for ambiguity. However, the terms are often considered acceptable for the sake of funding in different projects.

In the first government gazzette regarding the hijra gender, they were identified as "hijra lingo" or hijra sex.

Also, the government prefers to characterise the hijras as having genital deformities.

So the government's understanding of the hijras is very much biologically determined or medically categorised, says Prof Kazi Ashraf Uddin.

They are also identified as the third gender at times by the government, which the community often considers as demeaning, he added.