India - Eunuchs to do their bit

http://groups.google.com/group/transgender-news/browse_thread/thread/7b75c241625cf9e8?hl=en
By Manoj Chaurasia
09/23/2007

"PATNA, Sept 22: If you thought eunuchs only have "nuisance value" and
provide tacky entertainment, then you don't know the whole truth. They
are "brand ambassadors" of Bihar under Nitish Kumar's government with
state officials virtually lining up before them and unhesitatingly
seeking their help to change the face of the impoverished state. From
filing empty coffers to bringing the state in the pink of health, they
are doing it all."

That's positive news.
But I'm really tired of Indian journalists' use of the misleading word "eunuch" to translate hijra. The problem with calling them "trans women" is that in India they are not acknowledged as women, they are relegated to "third gender" status.

In one respect, being around Hindus is advantageous to me--I get my eyebrows threaded in a Hindu beauty salon where men are not allowed--the owner calls me "she." But because of the mandatory third-gender category, I'm glad I'm not Indian, I need to be the woman I am.