Daily Times

This article is from the series of my previous pen picture, that discussed the history, representation, and understanding of Khawaja Sara and Hijra gender and sexual identities in the Precolonial period and in the British Colonialism. In this article, I have stretched my discussion towards postcolonial Pakistan, that explores the two different dimensions of Khawaja Sara and Hijra. First, it explains the struggle of Khawaja Sara and Hijras in their families and their membership in the Guru-Cheela houses for refuge. Secondly, it explores the challenges pertaining to Khawaja Sara and Hijra as the third gender in education and employment in contemporary Pakistan.

The colonial legacy has developed a strong patriarchal system in postcolonial Pakistan. Living in such a rigid socio-cultural setting, the people in this country give top priority to their family honour and also discourage the discussion on the individuals who consider themselves out of the binary gender system of maleness and femaleness. It declares that those who deviate from the normative beliefs about sex/gender are thought to be a deviant that further isolate and deprive them from their fundamental rights.

Gurus develop a lifelong bond of reciprocity with Cheelas in a pseudo-family system

Children with feminine characteristics and behaviour most often experience a high level of stigma, physical and sexual violence in their families. Parents and relatives of Khawaja Sara and Hijra most often abandon their relationship with their children when they run away from homes. Their different identities are considered a sign of stigma and disgrace for the entire family. This attitude from the family members towards Khawaja Sara and Hijra, produces a negative impact upon the dignity and self-esteem in the society. The extreme attitude from family not only criticises them in public and private sphere of life but also develop them as a worthlessness and inferior person in society. To overcome the stressful situation, Khawaja Sara and Hijras individuals always flee from their families and join a community which could provide them security and acknowledge their gender and sexual identities. This social organization builds up on the social relationship between the senior individual, called “Guru” and novice individuals, called “Cheela”. This relationship of social hierarchy is based on the principles of teachers/student, mother/daughter, protector/earner, and administrator/ actor engagements. This engagement between the Guru and Cheela is known as Guru-Cheela relationship/ partnership.

Gurus develop a lifelong bond of reciprocity with Cheelas in a pseudo-family system. The Gurus hold the senior positions and are respected by the Cheelas. The Gurus are responsible for the provision of shelter, security, and protection of Cheelas while in return the Cheelas earn money for Gurus by engaging themselves in begging, singing, dancing, and sex work. The Gurus, as administrators, provide the pocket money, food, and clothes to Cheelas and pay the household’s expenses from the fund/money earned by the Cheela’s.

Federal and provincial governments in Pakistan have planned many developmental projects and also legalized their third gender identity respectively, but all these initiatives produced a very meagre impact to provide equal opportunities of education, health, and employment to Khawaja Sara and Hijra. They are still facing discrimination, sexual exploitation, and physical violence in their communities. A research study highlights that Transgender (locally known as Khawaja Sara and Hijra) communities are socially accepted with least numbers in the Pakistani society. The quantitative data of the survey show that, 78.8% of the participants have experienced a physical attack and 91.5%, of the participants remain marginalized by the institutions. Similarly, they find less space in the socio-cultural, economical, and political spheres in Pakistan that is because of their unique gender and sexual identity. They are considered at the lowest layer in the society which reduces their access to quality education, employment, and any other institutional services. In another research study, Human rights commission of Pakistan reports that Khawaja Sara are the most stigmatized group of individuals who are suffering exclusion in social, cultural, economic, and political sphere of life.

My above discussion concludes that today’s society provides job opportunities only to the individuals with high qualifications and with an excellent academic record. But on the other side, the Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s with a very low academic qualification and less access to education in Pakistani society make the situation worse for them. There are no special priority seats or special quota allocated for Hijras and Khawaja Sara in both the public and private sector jobs in Pakistan. The limited employment opportunities re-direct them towards their traditional livelihood engagements like begging, singing, dance, and risky behaviour of sex working. A recent survey report shows that large number of Hijras and Khawaja Sara are involved in sex trade because, they fail to find decent jobs for themselves that leave no other choices except of being engaged in the immoral practices for their survival in the society. In addition, the low-level support from their families and so as from the other community members further open them to many other different forms of violence and discrimination. Thus, due to the very reasons the Hijras and Khawaja Sara are considered the most dis-empowered and backward communities in contemporary Pakistan.

The writer is a PhD Scholar in RMIT University Melbourne with a research interest in the field of Gender, Sexuality, and Education. He has also served as an officer in the Social Welfare Department of Khyber Pukhtunkhawa and has a prolific experience of working in the development sector, research, and academia. He can be reached at alamgirsocio7@gmail.com