Hijra Identity: How Place, Home, and Geography Shape Belonging

 

I have been researching hijra for over one year. I always argued that identity is not only about how a person feels. It is very deeply rooted with culture, language and place a person belong. Where are living explain a lot about what kind of social and economical background a person belongs. When I visited hijra community in my country I discovered small government funded houses where hijras live. Insufficiency of proper education, healthcare, sanitation but at the same time I noticed very strong bond and hierarchy of guru chela family system. By their unique way of living, religious and cultural practices they gave those place a meaning. Not just a government funded property. In the reading Tim Cresswell talked about how place is more than just a location. A place has meaning because people, memories, experiences and relationships connected to it. Even Judith Lorber also explains that gender is not just biological but something that is shaped by society. When I connect these ideas into my research on Hijra identity, I start to see how much geography matters. I was so convinced that its totally about how law recognized them but now I see it from a geographic lens also. Hijra identity in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan is not same even though these countries share a lot of history and culture. The way hijra people are seen the names they use and the way they live can depend a lot on where they are.

I think I used the reference of Adnan Hossain most in my academic paper. His work on “De Indianizing Hijra” was outstanding. Let’s not forget gender identity is political. As we know, gender is socially constructed and place is where people practice power. Whoever controls the narrative controls the place by which I mean the interpretation of identity itself. That’s why till this day we are struggling to give proper clarification of hijra identity or maybe we just don’t want to. The question is not if the Society needs a space to do the dirty job, the question is what identity they are abusing to create that space.  If look at media most of the narratives, even the word hijra is popularized by Indian media.  To be very specific north Indian narrative while there are other regional names of such people. In Bangladesh hijra identity has its own social and religious context too. Where religious divinity is popular in Indian narrative, but Bangladeshi narrative focus less on spiritual divinity in comparison with Indian narrative instead they have tendency to assume it in a lens of genital deformity. This connects us to Cresswell’s idea of sense of place because people understand themselves through the places they live in. The same identity can have different meaning in Dhaka, Delhi, Lahore because each place has its own history, culture, religion and social rules.

The idea of home is also another important part of hijra identity. In our reading wood and beck mentioned that home is not just a building. Every home has its own sets of rules. Like whom belongs, how people are supposed to behave and what is considered normal. One undeniable tragedy of hijras is often they are rejected by their families because of their gender identity or gender expression. Often, they end up in deras, a communal space (Alamgir & Azhar, 2025). These deras are safe shelter of hijras but at the same time it has its own sets of rules and hierarchies what is known as Guru Chela system. Where the guru act as a mentor or family figure. Guru is at the top level of this family structure. Who provides safety, shelter and create space for cultural practices and gender expression without the fear of exclusion.

This really made me question what we really mean when we say home. A person can live in the house where they grew up but if that person doesn’t feel safe or accepted then does it count as home? On the other hand, dera may not be able to provide wealthy environment but it creates a space for recognition and acceptance. I think the most of interesting part of hijra geography is not about where you live. It’s about where you feel that you belong.

 

References

Cresswell, Tim. 2004. Place: A Short Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

Lorber, Judith. 2004. “The Social Construction of Gender.”

Wood, Denis, and Robert J. Beck. Home Rules. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Blackwood, Evelyn. 2005. “Women’s Intimate Friendships and Other Affairs: An Ethnographic Overview.”

Design Studio for Social Intervention. Spatial Justice: A Frame for Reclaiming Our Rights to Be, Thrive, Express, and Connect.

Hossain, A. (2018). De-Indianizing Hijra. TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1215/23289252-6900710

Alamgir, A., & Azhar, S. (2025). Belonging Beyond Margins: Relocation, Housing Insecurity, and Naming Politics of Young Transgender People in Pakistan. Belonging, 1, 350 - 363. https://doi.org/10.1177/30290805251398411