Despite legal recognition as a third gender in 2013, the transgender community in Bangladesh, who are commonly kwon as Hijra, has often been neglected and misunderstood in the society.
This community, in whole, is even deprived of emotional or moral support; in many cases, even from their families.
Transgender people come from all walks of life, not only from the marginal background. Even till date, they are being looked down upon in our society.
As they grow up, a Hijra embodies a woman inside a man’s body, the person’s feminine personalities being dejected, forcing many to run away from their homes, some are even forcibly thrown out of their houses due to social stigmatisation. Eventually, they discover themselves in Hijra communities
Thousands of members of transgender community in Bangladesh are being discriminated everyday only because of their gender identity. To include the deprived community into the mainstream society, Mymensingh divisional commissioner takes some initiative.
A workshop titled ‘Empowerment of the third gender community to build an inclusive society in Mymensingh Division’ was held on Thursday (December 28) at Language Martyr Abdul Jabbar Auditorium at Mymensingh Zilla Parishad.
Divisional Commissioner Umme Salma Tanzia chaired the workshop. She said that various trainings including food processing, tailoring, beauty parlour, handicrafts and handicrafts are being provided and loans ranging from Tk 50,000 to Tk 5 lakh are being provided on easy terms and with low interest to make Hijras self-reliant.
“Those who do not have accommodation will be given accommodation. Apart from this, they will be provided with necessary support,” said Umme Salma Tanzia.
National Skill Development Authority (NSDA) Joint Secretary Johor Ali spoke there as the chief speaker while Chief Executive Officer of Mymensingh City Corporation MD Yusuf Ali, Director of Local Government Department Farid Ahmed, additional divisional commissioner Md Azizur Rahman, among others were present there.
To recognise the trans community, the government of Bangladesh declared "Hijra" as the third gender in 2013. They were brought under the government's safety net programme and in 2019 they gained their voting rights. To be more inclusive of the community, the current finance minister of Bangladesh, AHM Mustafa Kamal proposed a special tax incentive for companies who will ensure that 10 percent of their hires are from the third gender community for the 2021-22 fiscal year budget.
All these initiatives have remarkably increased the visibility of the community. Yet the people from the community still face systematic discrimination when availing fundamental human rights as citizens, like the right to education, health, or property.
However, due to social stigma, educational institutes fail to provide them with a safe space to express themselves. The scope for enrolling into institutes for higher education is also limited for members of the third gender community. Perhaps one silver lining that emerged is the provision to fill up the Bangladesh Cadre Service examination form as third gender.
As a continuously developing society eyeing middle-income status, it is imperative that the government and we, as citizens, welcome and encourage such a step, and make way for the establishment of other such institutions which cater to the needs and desires of marginalized communities such as the hijras, speakers said.