In the Tip Jar to my Tuesday evening diary I mentioned that the India Supreme Court has recognized transgender as a third gender.
The ruling of the two-judge panel was written by Justice. K. S. Radhakrishnan.
Transgenders are citizens of this country ... and recognition as a third gender is not a social or medical issue but a human rights issue.
—Radhakrishnan
Radhakrishnana was thus appealing to Article 15 of India’s Constitution, which declares that no state can discriminate against citizens on the basis of race, caste, religion or sex.
Opinions differ among transpeople about the wisdom and/or desirability of being named a third gender. The majority of us want to be recognized as the gender we transition into.
But reality on the ground in India is that because transgender people had no legal recognition, we have been ostracized, abused and discriminated against to the point of often being forced to choose between prostitution or begging in order to survive.
Generally called hijra in India, some find gainful employment as dancers for hire, especially at weddings and birth ceremonies. It is estimated that India has two to three million hijra.
Besides having limited employment prospects, hijra are denied education and health care. India’s hospitals divide their patients among male and female wards…and have no room for hijra.
The justices decide that this was intolerable in modern society.
It is the right of every human being to choose their gender.
Gender-variant figures were celebrated in Indian history prior to British colonial rule, being found in the Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Puranas.
An example of this was Ardhanarishvara, who was created by the merging of Shiva and Parvati (Shiva’s consort). Ardhanarishvara represents “the totality that lies beyond duality.”
The hermaphrodite, the homosexual and the transvestite have a symbolic value and are considered privileged beings, images of the Ardhararishvara.
—Alain Danielou
In a similar event Lakshmi (goddess of beauty and prosperity) and Vishnu merged to form Lakshmi-Narayana who was also called
Vaikuntha-Kamalaja, who is mostly worshipped in Nepal and Kashmir.
In the Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu takes the form of the enchantress, Mohini, in order to trick the demons into giving up Amrita, the elixir of life. Shiva later becomes attracted to Mohini and they have a relationship that results in the birth of a son. In the Brahmanda Purana, Shiva's wife Parvati "hangs her head in shame" when she sees her husband's pursuit of Mohini. In some stories Shiva asks Vishnu to take on the Mohini form again so he can see the actual transformation for himself. Stories in which Shiva knows of Mohini's true nature have been interpreted to "suggest the fluidity of gender in sexual attraction".
—Gender variance of deities, Wikipedia
Arjuna is the main hero of the Mahabarata.
Arjuna himself is an example of gender variance. When Arjuna refused her amorous advances, the nymph Urvashi cursed Arjuna; he would become a "kliba," a member of the third gender. Krishna assured Arjuna that this curse would serve as the perfect disguise for Arjuna during his last year of exile. Arjuna took the name Brihannala and dressed in women's clothes, causing the curse to take effect. Thus Arjuna gained entry into the city ruled by king Virata, where he taught the arts of music, singing and dancing to the princess Uttarā and her female attendees. Doniger describes Arjuna's cross-dressing disguise as a source of comedy in the story, with references to his "hairy arms". In the Padma Purana, Arjuna is also physically transformed into a woman when he requests permission to take part in Krishna's mystical dance, which only women may attend.
When the British came, they highly disapproved, of course…and taught the people on the sub-continent to turn their backs on gender-variance.
During the era of the British Raj, authorities attempted to eradicate hijras, whom they saw as "a breach of public decency." Anti-hijra laws were repealed; but a law outlawing castration, a central part of the hijra community, was left intact, though rarely enforced. Also during British rule in India they were placed under Criminal Tribes Act 1871 and labelled a "criminal tribe," hence subjected to compulsory registration, strict monitoring and stigmatized for a long time; after independence however they were denotified in 1952, though the centuries-old stigma continues.
—Wikipedia
Recognition of transgenders as a third gender is not a social or medical issue but a human rights issue.
Transgenders are also citizens of India [and they must be] provided equal opportunity to grow.
The spirit of the Constitution is to provide equal opportunity to every citizen to grow and attain their potential, irrespective of caste, religion or gender.
—Justice KS Radhakrishnan, writing for the court
We are quite thrilled by the judgement.
The court order gives legal sanctity to the third gender. The judges said the government must make sure that they have access to medical care and other facilities like separate wards in hospitals and separate toilets.
--Anita Shenoy, lawyer for the petitioner National Legal Services Authority (Nalsa)
Today, I feel a proud citizen of India.
—Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, prominent transgender activist
There is still trouble on the horizon. Last December the Supreme Court of India reinstated the legal ban on gay sex. It is unknown at this time how that will be viewed in the case of a hijra.