The Condition of Transgender people in Dhaka city

Submitted to:

Raihana Tasmin

Lecturer

North South University (Department of English & Modern Languages)

Submitted by:

Labib Alam Nafi

ID 2111149630

Section 23

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ABSTRACT:
Transgender people are referred to as hijra in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, as well as other
South Asian countries such as India and Pakistan. Hijra is a catch-all term for men who were
born male but do not identify with either gender. In our nation, neither the government nor the
general public provide enough facilities. People in our culture handled them as if they were
some deadly beast. In Bangladesh, they are denied essential human rights such as access to
health care due to prejudice. Throughout history, popular society has neglected their flaws,
failures, and anxieties. Transgender persons believe that mainstream society lacks
understanding of their culture, gender, or sexual orientation. Development sectors have never
addressed the dimensions of their social deprivation and harassment. That's why I want to do
my research paper on this issue so that I can raise awareness among people about the rights of
transgenders in our society and thus try to improve their condition in the society. I did take
some interviews from Mirpur Hijra Potti and collected their stories. And same with my other
groups which is common people. and the rest I did via online survey with the help of TransEnd
for transgender people. All these different perspectives help me to do my research. My
research can present issues from both sides, transgender persons and the general public. After
the research is completed, the results might be a transformed society in which transgender
persons are given the rights and respect they deserve, and the general public is less bothered
by trans people. Understanding the sociocultural and human rights aspects of transgender
discrimination and deprivation may assist them in living a better and safer life.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract: ........................................................................................................................................................................2
introduction: ..................................................................................................................................................................4
Conditions of Transgender in Bangladesh: ....................................................................................................................5
Living of transgender: ................................................................................................................................................5
Concerning facts: .......................................................................................................................................................5
Economic growths of transgender: ...........................................................................................................................6
No education opportunities: .....................................................................................................................................6
Discrimination in employment: .................................................................................................................................6
Transgender, a social taboo: .....................................................................................................................................7
Cause and effects: .........................................................................................................................................................8
Causes of their struggling life: ...................................................................................................................................8
Behavioral issues: ......................................................................................................................................................8
Earning factors: .........................................................................................................................................................8
Mental health of a Transgender: ...............................................................................................................................8
Solution:.........................................................................................................................................................................9
The impact of NGO: .................................................................................................................................................10
The impact of Government: ....................................................................................................................................10
Referencing:.................................................................................................................................................................10
Bibliography: ................................................................................................................................................................12
Conclusion: ..................................................................................................................................................................13
Acknowledgement: ......................................................................................................................................................13

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INTRODUCTION:
Transgender is a broad phrase that refers to persons whose gender identity, or internal
feeling of being male, female, or something else, differs from the sex given to them at birth.
According to Al Ja Zeera, there are about 1.5 million transgender people in Bangladesh, who fall
into several categories. And the number is more than USA. Some transgender persons might
not identify solely with one gender. Their gender identification may include both female and
male elements, or they may not identify with any gender. In Bangladesh these transgender
people usually called by “Hijra” The term 'hijra' is derived from a Semitic Arabic origin and
denotes 'leaving one's tribe' in Urdu-Hindustani. Hijras are classified as 'third gender,' 'third
sex,' or "Neither men nor women," in the words of their most well-known ethnographer,
Serena Nanda. From my childhood I had an interest on transgender people. I always felt curious
why they beg like this? Why they dress like this? Why they act or clap like this? These questions
kept alive my curiosity towards transgender.

While I was growing I started to do some researches on them and I got some of the
answers but not all of them. And when I did these researches in that time I got to know that
they live a very hard life in our country. They struggle in every situation in our society. They do
not have any proper education and they also do not have any proper job. So, for living they beg
in our society. According to Chandana, a trans who lives in Dhaka, she thinks the root of their
problem is that they don't have a steady source of money, this makes life extremely tough for
them. Everyone despises them. They need to ask for money, but no one wants to give it to
them; they have to persuade them. They must convey to them that if they do not give them
money, they would starve to death. They, too, are human beings. She also thinks that, they
need education for living. Education can make them stronger. If 1.5 million transgender people
live in our country, well that’s a huge a number of population and if they live such a miserable
life that it’s a very concerning issue.

As I had curiosity towards transgender people, it feels really bad to me that they live a
very hard life although they are also human being like us. I always wanted to do something for
them but I never had a proper chance to do that. I think this research paper would be a great

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chance as I want to create awareness about the condition of their living. After seeing them
from my childhood, I consider that they are not that bad as a human being and they deserve a
better life. My research aims to create awareness in our society and it will assess the present
state of hijra human rights in Bangladesh.

CONDITIONS OF TRANSGENDER IN BANGLADESH:

LIVING OF TRANSGENDE R:

In Bangladesh, transgender or hijra live a very difficult life. Human Rights Watch
interviewed six transgender males living in different locations of Bangladesh in October 2017.
They all mentioned bullying in school, employment difficulties, trouble receiving health care,
and harassment and verbal abuse in both public and private areas. Some of them are even not
getting proper education. According to my survey, in Bangladesh some common people disgust
them just because they are transgender. And there are some common people who fear them
as they think transgender are more attacking. These hatreds lead the trans people to have a
very hard life to live. As they do not have any proper job they need to beg in the street to earn
money. Yes, some of them might be violent but do they really want to do that? Most of them
live in a slum where they do not even get mineral water to drink. 5 to 6 of them at least live
together in one room, sharing one floor. As it’s a slum, it’s so unhygienic to live in. It even
smells bad. They do not get any healthy proper food on daily basis. They do not even get basic
medical treatment properly which is a basic human right as they are citizen of this country.
Masuma, aged 20 a transgender from Dhaka said while I was taking the interview that, “I didn't
go to the doctor because society isn't very accepting of us, and I'm transgender, so if I go there,
they won't accept me favorably. In addition, I am constrained by budgetary restraints.” Each
and every citizen should get their basic human rights. Transgender individuals are not treated
as equal citizens in Bangladesh, and they endure institutionalized discrimination in access to
justice and public areas. While a small percentage of my survey participants came out to their
families and were loved, the majority of participants experienced physical violence, rejection,
and mockery from their families or were afraid of how their families would respond if they
came out.

CONCERNING FACTS:

As they are the citizen of Bangladesh, it is really concerning and alarming facts that they
face these much discrimination from our society. Starting from living to getting job they face
lots of difficulties. According to my survey some common people get harassed by trans people.
Maybe often or daily basis but when I ask them that is it their(transgender’s) fault or not they
disagreed on that and they think that if transgender people have a better life like other

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common people, they would be less attacking, they would not be begging in the streets and
harassing people. No one wants to earn like that, everybody wants respect. And if this doesn’t
stop within next few years, the harassment might get increased as they have nothing to do
rather than begging.

ECONOMIC GROWTH OF T RANSGENDER:

What role does transgender people having in economic growth? They are being harassed at
work, being refused a promotion, or being fired as a result of their gender expression or gender
identity. Not getting the proper salary, sometimes they are getting their salary late than others.
Even if they wanted to contribute in our economic growth, people from our society declining
that by their personal hatred towards trans. Transgender people are certainly
disproportionately affected by economic and job difficulties, despite the fact that they are
legally entitled to the same rights as non-transgender people.

NO EDUCATION OPPORTU NITIES:

Education is one of the basic rights of a human being. Education can make a human being
very differently. By education a person, he or she will learn about manners, gain the knowledge
about particular subjects. But transgender people in our society isn’t getting proper education
opportunities. According to the survey, 73% of them didn’t even completed their JSC exam,
17% completed their SSC and 10% completed their HSC. This is quite alarming that they do not
even get the minimum education in our country. Access to basic education is now a human
right, and it is the key to most of the nation's progress goals. There are might be some talented
transgender people who are not getting education. It is a big loss for the country as well.
Despite the fact that there are several organizations in Bangladesh that work with various
sectors of disability, there is seldom any excellent institute built specifically for the eunuch
people.

DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT:

Transgender are also human beings; they have lives, they need food, shelter, clothing,
education, and a job to survive in the world, just like other men and women. However, despite
the fact that trans are human beings, they are denied their basic human rights because social
taboos and discrimination have rendered them untouchable, fearsome, and amusing. Because
of a lack of educational understanding, they do not have a reliable source of income and must
rely on begging or waitressing. Another issue that exacerbates issues is the mythological idea
that eunuchs are endowed with paranormal abilities capable of damning "normal" individuals
to a life of sorrow. Taking advantage of this notion, eunuchs in Bangladesh take to the streets,
buses, trains, and even wedding halls, demanding large sums of money in return for blessings,
and occasionally resorting to violence if their demands are not granted. Long before they were

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thought to bring good fortune to newborn baby. They get a lot pf discrimination in their job
sector. Even those are begging they also face lots of discrimination and struggle with the
common people as some of them behave rudely with them.

TRANSGENDER, A SOCIA L TABOO:

When we hear the phrases 'Hijra,' 'Transgender,' and 'Third gender,' we tend to turn away.
In our culture, members of the transgender community have long been mistreated and
misunderstood. Transgender persons come from all areas of life, not just the margins. They are
still looked down upon in our culture today. Clearly, South Asian nations require more time to
embrace this gender identification, which is still considered taboo in our society. We as a
society are frequently vociferous about human rights and progress, yet this group has long been
overlooked. Transphobic discrimination has impacts in many areas of transgender people's
lives, including their health and well-being. We grow up in an environment that does not
provide us with any means of understanding or expressing our gender identities in a way that is
understandable to others. There is one exception, of course: the widely held belief that
transgender persons are women or men "stuck" in the bodies of the opposite sex. This identity
notion was created for transgenders.

Transgender experienced significant emotions of agony, sadness, and suicide ideation as

a result of familial and social isolation in my survey. In recent days, some of the transgender
might gain success in their life but most of them are still suffering. And then 87% are jobless
and they earn through begging. And those who are doing jobs, they face lots of difficulties and
get bullied on daily basis. Khadiza, a trans aged 24 who works in Dhaka City Corporation gets
bullied everyday by her coworkers. They taunt her, give her the extra works and threaten her
that if she doesn’t get these works done then the higher authority will fire her. Ishita, a trans
aged 25 who works in a private garment, in office no one really talks with her and if she tries to
everyone ignore her that moment. These kinds of activities make them more vulnerable. Even
in some cases, some of them are working in a company but getting less paid than the usual
salary and other common people. Before writing this research, the transgender people
interviewed indicated how badly they are exploited and mistreated at every stage of their
existence. They are shunned by the youngsters they wish to play with as children, and they are
chastised by instructors and elderly people in their homes and localities. Most of the time, they
are obliged to give up their feminine features, over which they have little control. When they
are adults, their families may encourage them to marry despite the fact that they have sexual
and psychological differences.

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CAUSE AND EFFECT:
CAUSES OF THEIR STRUGGLING LIFE:

Transgender people struggle with their life. They face lots of issues while living such a
bad life. As they live in a slum, there are no proper food, water, electricity. In summer, it’s really
hard to live there, in a room with 5 or 6 people. The main cause for their bad living is the
government is not taking proper care of them. Yes, government declared third gender as citizen
of our country few years ago but after that do they take care of this part of their citizen?
According to my respondents, no. They are not improving their living area which is called by
“Hijra potti”. They do get some benefits from government obviously but they think they
deserve more and government is one of the core reasons of their bad living. After this, the
transgender people think is that the common people are another reason for their struggling life.
As they face a lot of discrimination from common people. There are some people who hate
transgender people without any reason, they spread so much hatred in our society that the
other common people started to hate them. By this hatred, they started to behave rudely with
them. Don’t want to give them job or they bully the trans people in office or school. All these
behavior does have a big effect on a transgender’s mental health. Slowly it becomes a taboo in
our society to behave well with a transgender, to become a friend with them. Through my
survey, there are some common people who are aged 15 to 30 said, their parents taught them
some misconception towards transgender people in their childhood, like they are bad and they
attacking etc. So, some this hatred come from the family.

BEHAVIORAL ISSUES:

As this issue is concerning this should solve also. If the people don’t solve this then it will
be a very big and dangerous issue in our society. As these problems causes aggressiveness from
transgender people, they can be more aggressive and harmful towards the common. As per my
survey, trans people don’t want to be harmful towards common people but they believe the
situation made them to do so. The discrimination from the society is hurtful to them. They also
want to feel loved by others but the society keep spreading hatred towards them.

EARNING FACTORS:

When a transgender cannot earn properly and also can not live her life properly, she can
start crime works for earning such as attacking common people for money, snatching mobiles,
cash, maybe something more serious like bank rob etc. It also looks bad from outside the
country that trans people from our country getting discriminated, not having jobs and begging
in the street.

MENTAL HEALTH OF A TRANSGENDER:

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 Internalization of societal stigma, resulting in unfavorable attitudes and beliefs about
oneself. Minority stress has been connected to transgender persons seeking less preventive
care and screenings than cisgender people of comparable ages, whose gender identity and
expression match the sex they were assigned at birth. Furthermore, as a result of minority
stress, transgender persons are vulnerable to emotional and psychological abuse. Violence,
both physical and sexual, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation are all examples of mental
health issues.

SOLUTION:
In order to enhance societal acceptance and access to state-provided social services, the
recognition of Hijra as a third gender must be enshrined in legislation. The state's role is to
secure equal rights for all citizens. Transgender persons must be granted constitutional
recognition. Before making any decisions, the hijras should be contacted and asked how they
would like to be acknowledged by the rest of society. This community has no precise database.
The government should quickly build a database with detailed information to analyze their
numbers, requirements, and demands so that the board can suggest solutions. The government
of Bangladesh has the authority to establish a Hijra Welfare Board. The board should be
concerned with issues concerning this community in order to protect their human rights. The
media distorts the image of the transgender community, portraying it in a hilarious way and
demeaning manner that must be stopped in order to promote the good parts. As a result, more
promotional actions are required for greater societal acceptance. By releasing pieces authored
by specialists, the media may play an important role in influencing the perspective of society.
Slots in public/private forms or documents, such as banks, insurance companies, hospitals,
passports, and so on, may be established, as might a distinct box for the transgender. The
government should create more job opportunities for them. The transgender community
should receive free medical care in government hospitals/clinics, as well as an end to
harassment. As they need education, the government should focus on creating a school or
should create opportunities for them to have basic education. Admission quotas for
hermaphrodites to educational institutions must be established. More career possibilities and
quotas for transgender people should be established. Seats in parliament should be provided
for Hijra members, similar to the seats allotted for female candidates, so that their
representatives may actively participate in policy making. The government also should take
initiative and give them training and should create some skill learning program. Laws
concerning indecent behavior, unnatural sex, and obscenity, for example, need to be more
precise so that they are not understood to impose heteronormativity. Textbooks and scientific
databases should offer accurate information regarding transgender people, including their
identity, existence, customs, and traditions, backed up by scientific evidence. Transgender

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accommodations should be organized, and granted property shares should be prioritized for
older transgender persons.

THE IMPACT OF NGO:

While doing my survey and interviews, I took some interviews of NGO people who’s
working for transgender people. These NGOs are trying their best to help all these transgender
people who are struggling really hard. And some of them are getting successful also. Lamea
Tanjin Tanha founded "TransEnd," a non-profit organization organized by young people
dedicated to empowering the transgender community via education, training,
entrepreneurship, and employment. They recent won “The Diana Award” for doing this noble
work. They are creating more job opportunities than ever for transgender people. They are also
providing primary education and motivating them to seek for higher education. "Growing up, I
witnessed them being treated differently and inequitably. I'd think about the causes for this
mindset. My parents instilled in me the importance of being kind to others, telling me that we
must treat everyone with respect, no matter how different they are "Tanha, TransEnd's CEO
and founder, stated. Another company named “TRANSport” also creating lots of job
opportunities for trans people. This is an app-based delivery service devoted to the transgender
community. Fateen Farhan, 18, Tihan Raihan Ishmam, 18, Rahmatullah Moon, 18, and Mahadi
Rafee, 20, founded TRANSport with the goal of assisting the transgender community. TransEnd,
a non-profit organization for the transgender population, is also assisting with training.

THE IMPACT OF GOVERN MENT:

Although government is the one of the prime causes of their hard-struggling life but still
the government of our country is doing much for the transgender people other than India,
Pakistan. The government has undertaken a number of steps to improve the lives of the Hijra
population. During the fiscal years 2012-2013, a rehabilitation program was initiated in seven
districts of the nation, including Dhaka, Chittagong, Bogra, Dinajpur, Patuakhali, Sylhet, and
Khulna. The program received about BDT 7,217,000 in funding for the fiscal years 2012-2013.
135 Hijra students earned financial assistance as part of this development initiative, while 350
Hijras aged 18 and up received training to enhance their skills. There were 485 total recipients.
Like this government try to provide aid and training programs in to different districts of
Bangladesh.

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CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, transgender people really having hard times to live a healthy life. And
also, some common people also getting harassed. But the common people should put more
respect towards trans people and by that this social taboo can be broken. Our family needs to
step up specially the elder people from the family. And the trans people also need to stop
harassing people on the streets. It’s irritating and quite embarrassing as well. I really hope my
research paper can create awareness in our society about this situation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
As I finished my research paper on “The Condition of Transgender people in Dhaka city”,
firstly I'd want to express my gratitude to Raihana Tasnim, my course instructor. It would have
been difficult to accomplish this research report without her consistent encouragement and
guidance. I owe her a great deal for influencing my mental process and driving me to improve
it. I'd also want to thank NSU's Department of English and Modern Languages for giving me the
chance to take this course and learn so much. Then after that, I would like thanks all my
participants of my survey, both offline and online. Special thanks to Khadiza, a transgender by
her help I have done all my offline interviews. And lastly thanks to Yousuf Ibne Ishaque for
connecting me with the TransEnd, an NGO for transgender people.

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