The fact is they exist and have existed here throughout our history. They were the entertainers, the artisans, the lovers, the bodyguards, the warriors, the dancers and the feeble among the crux of society that never looked at them with any recognition. Their public mockery and derogatory instigations have pushed them towards the retrograde in a society that has stalled itself from any development. Though they have a right to claim a share in their societal prevalence, very little is made known to the very society they belong to. In general, people who look down on them do not really want to know about them. Their social alienation is not history yet; it is growing with the spread of the radicalisation of our mindset, pushing their community further towards gross social and legal vulnerability.Born neither in the distinct category of male or female, eunuchs in South Asia are commonly known as hijras, now replaced with khwaja sira. They are the victims of serious state neglect. The immense stigmatisation of eunuchs in society has compelled many parents to give up their own flesh and blood, save for a few of them who remain determined to raise their children against all odds and help them stand on their feet. Most of them have now made commendable contributions in the fashion and entertainment industries of Pakistan.But not all are fortunate enough. There is hardly any school that children of the third gender can go to. There is hardly any hospital where doctors can treat them without being sinister. There is hardly any protection whenever they are threatened. And, worse, there is hardly any reprisal whenever they are verbally and sexually brutalised. Being at the mercy of their merciless society, they have nowhere to turn to sustain themselves financially, leaving them mainly with prostitution, dancing and singing as their major sources of income.Thanks to the recent HIV/AIDS drive in Pakistan that is making an impact through awareness campaigns, the eunuchs’ grievances are now being highlighted but Article 269 of the constitution reads, “Whoever unlawfully or negligently does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term, which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both.” This particular clause has shifted the whole blame onto the victim himself in the absence of any sex education or appraisal on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in Pakistan.Because the khawja sira community lacks social recognition, it does not openly participate in politics. Recently, some khawja siras stood for the elections in May 2013 but their participation remains nominal. The political manifestoes of the major parties are mainly based on right wing rhetoric and therefore carry no concrete mandate to integrate them into society. The only source that can grant them any international donors’ attention is to highlight the issue of HIV/AIDS that is on the rise in this part of the world. Civil society, however, is becoming active for their rights. Many gurus, or the heads of khawja sira households, have taken it upon themselves to fight for their cause but intimidation never ends for them. Most of them also feel remorse about other NGOs that try to make use of their vulnerability and victimisation to highlight their credentials, but become oblivious to their misery once they have achieved their goals. Neeli, a social activist and a eunuch from Lahore, eloquently says, “They come to seek our support and we give them but, in return, when we need them, they are never there.” She spoke of an instance when she called for a protest against police brutality against a community member but it fell on deaf ears, “We are severely brutalised, raped on a daily basis, often denied treatment in hospitals and nobody cares.”It was only through a human rights campaign to give them their due recognition that the Supreme Court (SC) gave a verdict favouring them in December 2009. National identity cards were to carry the third gender to identify them, a step in the right direction but a slow one at that. This move was to make them enabled citizens who could participate as voters, seek legal reprisals and find work.The eunuch community has remained persecuted for centuries but, with the advent of fast paced communication, media exposure and high tech information, it is impossible to keep their issues out of sight and ignore the brutality and violence they have to bear due to lack of any social protection. There are politicians and lobbyists that could help them but have not delivered anything substantial so far. The fact that there are no definite figures of their population (with figures that vary between 80,000 to 300,000) or that there is no official data available on the number of petitions they have filed in the court against their perpetrators shows the lack of concern for their state that is screaming for some attention. There are some important voices, like that of Almas Bobby, the president of the Pakistan She-male Foundation, who has taken on their issues boldly on television and on the streets, highlighting police brutality and the apathy of government officials and ministers. However, her pleas are being readily discarded as non-issues. The khawja sira community is an integral part of Pakistan and cannot be alienated in its own homeland. It is time Pakistan wakes up to their reality and understands that citizens of this country are not just divided into male and female but that they have a third gender as well, equally deserving of the right to their citizen privileges. The writer is a freelance columnist and may be contacted at zeeba.hashmi@gmail.com