News and Events => People news => Topic started by: SandraJane on March 29, 2012, 11:35:36 PM Return to Full Version
Title: The Most Visible of India’s Invisible Class
Post by: SandraJane on March 29, 2012, 11:35:36 PM
Post by: SandraJane on March 29, 2012, 11:35:36 PM
WALL STREET JOURNAL | INDIA
The Most Visible of India's Invisible Class
March 27, 2012, 10:59 AM IST
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/03/27/the-most-visible-of-indias-invisible-class/?mod=google_news_blog# (http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/03/27/the-most-visible-of-indias-invisible-class/?mod=google_news_blog#)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs.wsj.net%2Fpublic%2Fresources%2Fimages%2FOB-SJ384_ieunuc_G_20120327011959.jpg&hash=c8ff446dc55d0484fbc636fb8efa059f17f36337)
A hijra stood in an alley in Mumbai, August 12, 2011. Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
On a swelteringly hot day in June of 2002, a 22 year-old hijra sex-worker named Sowmya was castrated by a Mumbai doctor for the sum of about 10,000 rupees ($200).
In her clan, one of seven in the city, roughly three out of every four hijras are castrated, so this dangerous, occasionally deadly tradition was built into the intimate fabric of her everyday life. "I was so nervous" at the time, says Sowmya, who only goes by one name. "But my friends were with me." While some hijras are castrated, many others simply adopt feminine clothing and mannerisms.
India's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community has been thrust into the spotlight lately due to the Supreme Court's ongoing case regarding the decriminalization of homosexuality.
The Most Visible of India's Invisible Class
March 27, 2012, 10:59 AM IST
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/03/27/the-most-visible-of-indias-invisible-class/?mod=google_news_blog# (http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/03/27/the-most-visible-of-indias-invisible-class/?mod=google_news_blog#)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs.wsj.net%2Fpublic%2Fresources%2Fimages%2FOB-SJ384_ieunuc_G_20120327011959.jpg&hash=c8ff446dc55d0484fbc636fb8efa059f17f36337)
A hijra stood in an alley in Mumbai, August 12, 2011. Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
On a swelteringly hot day in June of 2002, a 22 year-old hijra sex-worker named Sowmya was castrated by a Mumbai doctor for the sum of about 10,000 rupees ($200).
In her clan, one of seven in the city, roughly three out of every four hijras are castrated, so this dangerous, occasionally deadly tradition was built into the intimate fabric of her everyday life. "I was so nervous" at the time, says Sowmya, who only goes by one name. "But my friends were with me." While some hijras are castrated, many others simply adopt feminine clothing and mannerisms.
India's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community has been thrust into the spotlight lately due to the Supreme Court's ongoing case regarding the decriminalization of homosexuality.