The hijras in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh represent a terribly marginalized minority community, to the extent that they are even ignored by human rights activists. In this book, the author argues that their situation can be compared with that of transsexuals in the west, both in terms of the psycho-social compulsions faced by a man who voluntarily decides to become a hijra or alternately a male to female transsexual as well as in terms of the complications regarding marriage, adoption and sexual status. In this book, the author has made a unique comparative study of the human rights abuses and legal problems faced by members of the ‘third sex’ in the West and India. Relevant and important documents, not available elsewhere, concerning sexual minorities have also been included in the annexures, such as the petition filed by the AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan (AIDS anti Discrimination Movement) challenging the criminalization of homosexuality, together with relevant extracts from international human rights treaties. This book is essential reading for human rights activists, social scientists, those connected with the law and the concerned citizen.
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