PLIGHT OF TRANSGENDER CITIZENS – CAUSES AND REMEDIES

It is not very uncommon that we come across in moving Trains, Bus Stands, Commercial areas, Parks etc.,   groups  of Hijras  or Transgenders (third gender/eunuch)  (also known differently in many Indian languages like chhakka  in kannada, khusra in Punjabi,  kojja  in Telugu, and Aravani, Tirunangai  in Tamil)  pester,  demand money from Passengers, Shop-Keepers and general public. Though a small percentage of public,  shop-keepers  pay money willingly and happily, a majority of them pay money only out of helplessness and  out of fear. They very well know their refusal to pay money would certainly invite a generous shower of abuses, curses in unprintable vulgar and filthy language.

I do not know whether out of self-imposed Code of Conduct or out of  respect Or  for whatever reasons, these transgenders  normally spare or ignore Senior  Citizens like me, women and children, provided we keep our mouth shut and do not venture to pass any remarks  on them!  Initially, like anybody else, I also used to get irritated, upset about their unruly and indecent  behaviour  in public.  But, when I thought over their  behaviour  calmly, objectively and without any prejudice, I came to the firm conclusion that we cannot find fault with their behaviour and instead we will have to  blame ourselves, individually and jointly as a  Society since it is  ONLY we  who have pushed them into this pitiable, miserable situation.  I have very consciously and deliberately avoided mentioning about the illegal and anti-social activities some of these transgenders  engage  in,  for obvious reasons.

Transgenders  are  persons  having a gender identity or self-image which is opposite of one’s physical sex : being physically male but behaving like female  or vice versa.  At birth, infants are assigned a sex based on a combination of bodily characteristics, internal reproductive organs, and genitals. For transgender people, their birth-assigned sex and their own internal sense of gender identity do not match. They are born with wrong gender in a wrong body. Most transgender children live in the shadows, hiding from a world that sees them as freaks of nature. Rejected  by their families, many grow up hating their own bodies, and fall victim to high rates of depression, drug abuse, violence and suicide.

Transgenders were in  existence  from  time immemorial  and  references are available in plenty even in vedic literatures.  However the disturbing fact is their population is on the increase.  50 -  60 years back,  their numbers were not so much as we find to-day. I do not know whether our Govt. agencies

have  ever  carried-out  a census of  transgenders.

While we can with very high percentage of accuracy confirm the reasons, circumstances and conditions which has forced them to behave in this deplorable manner, we are not in a position to say as to why they are born as such.

There is no data available which links to genetical,  heredity  factors  for their births  as Transgenders  and  it seems to happen at random . We only  hope  our Medical professionals are able to findout the  true reasons and come out  with remedies to eradicate or alteast  to minimise such births taking place, soon.

Reasons for their present miserable conditions  :

1.  Though  Parents  are not directly responsible for  the birth of trangenders, they are,  in no uncertain terms,  primarily responsible for pushing them into this deplorable, miserable conditions.  Even after,  they become aware of this fact,  they try to suppress it.  They do this mainly because of social stigma attached to the Transgender.  They also harbour genuine and valid fear that it will affect the life of their other children greatly, particularly if they have female children even their marriages will become a big question mark.

2.  We can only imagine the mental agony these Trangender children undergo at that tender age. They undergo  serious confict within themselves. Every second is spent in fighting eternal turmoil, fire like inferno raging  inside  their mind, though it is certainly NOT their fault to be born as such.  In addition to this mental agony, depression,   their  own siblings, relations,  neighbours, co-students in school, even Teachers  daunt them, tease them and inflict untold injuries on them. Sexual and physical abuses also  are  not  uncommon. This is like applying ACID to 3^rd degree deep wound, caused by fire.

3.  Because of unsympathetic, unsupportive and hostile treatment these transgender  children  receive  at very young age and unbearable to suffer the  agony raging in their mind, they  somehow like to disappear from the scene either by running away from home or ending their life. No data is available as to how many of them have ended their life at this tender age. But you can safely assume it is quite high. It may sound unbelievable but is true that the Parents also play active role in this.  They somehow want to  get rid of them in order to protect their family from social stigma and also protect the interest  of  their other children. Some parents even take them to far off Cities and  abandon  them  so that they  cannot find their way back.

4.   These abandoned  transgender  children  with no or little money and not knowing the local language undergo untold miseries until some Transgender picks them up and take them to their hide-outs or joints generally located in isolated places, abandoned buildings. There, they quickly pick-up  rather  are taught all the vices in the world, in order to survive.

5.  When they are around 16 years of age,  these Transgenders undergo an initiation rite into the hijra community called nirwaan.  Elaborate poojas are conducted where all transgender community members participate and this Sex Change operation is conducted in totally secret manner.  As these operations are conducted under questionable and unhygienic conditions and by those without any qualification and expertise, we do not know as to how many of them are successful and  how  many  have resulted in permanent disability  and even deaths. No data is available on this score. Even Police turn a blind eye in this regard.

IMMEDIATE REMEDIAL ACTION REQUIRED :

1.  Every State should have region wise Development and Welfare Centres   for  Transgenders  with attached well staffed School, giving them proper food, shelter and medical facilities. These centres  may  be established and run by religious bodies or by Social Activity Groups with  grants from the State and Central Govt.  and  with proper supervisory control.

2.  There should be strict legal requirement wherein the Parents must register in the nearest Police Station, as soon as they come to know the fact their child has symptoms of Transgender. When the trangender child attains the age of 6, the Parents will be solely responsible to admit the child in the nearest Centre. The area Police authorities should ensure this and such details should be recorded  by them. Failure to do so should be treated as prosecutable offence.

3.  These  centres  should  have  dedicated Psychologists to counsel these children regularly and make them feel that it is not their fault to be born as such and they should take it in their stride and progress in life. These children can visit their homes during holidays and enjoy living with their parents & relatives.

4.   They should get free medical support  like  “sex reassignment therapy” , Hormone replacement  therapy  for transmen/women, voice,  face,  adam’s apple, breasts, genitals  therapy/procedures  from  well qualified doctors.

5.  Social welfare departments and education authorities should  educate and enlighten other children and also general public about this gender and wipe out from their mind all inhibitions and apprehension about this gender. Their mind should be prepared to accept  them  as a reality and acknowledge the fact that they are also human beings like themselves.

6.  They should be trained and encouraged in all sports/cultural activities in their Centres and arrange Sports/cultural  events  with other Centres as well as other institutions, to enable them mingle with all and get to know each other.

7.  Once they complete their Secondary School Education, they should be admitted in professional  Colleges  along with other students, while they continue to live in their Development Centres.

Those who firmly believe in God,  will  agree with me that every creation in this world by Him has a definite intention, purpose, goal and objective. I also feel that He has created the Transgenders as a Superior Race to serve, guide, administer the normal  Human  beings  with total devotion, dedication and undiverted  and undivided  focus, unbiased and without any prejudice. Since they have no family of their own, they need not save any money for generations to come which is the root cause for prevalent Corruption.  I believe they are most suitable for higher posts in Police, Administration, Medical, Teaching, Judicial,  Armed  Forces, Secret Services  and so on for  reasons which can be easily imagined than explained.

We need to help them out, develop them, bring out their high potential capabilities  for at least Two generations which may take about 40 years and once they are fully developed, well-placed,  they will support us with selfless  and dedicated service and make this world a better place to live.

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