Autobiography of a Hijra
Posted: Sat Mar 11, 2006 3:52 pm
This article just appeared on the Newindpress.com (http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.as ... re&Topic=0) online news group. Thought it might be of interest
Bangalore-based Hijara writes autobiography
Friday March 10 2006 00:00 IST
BANGALORE: It could well be billed a first-of-its-kind autobiography, offering a peek into a life lived on the margins of society. For Jereena, a eunuch engaged in commercial sex work at Ulsoor here for the last 27 years, is now giving the finishing touches to the story of her life, prising open a window to the world of a much denigrated and ostracised subclass.
Perhaps the first autobiography of a member of the third gender, it is set to be initially published in Malayalam in a few weeks time. The English, Kannada and Tamil translations would hit the stands before the end of the year.
Sans melodrama and pretence, the candid `Autobiography of a Hijara' will be a stirring account of the real life experiences of the hijaras and an eye-opener about life's aberrations. Jereena represents a minority in the community of eunuchs who are castrated males but are now considered `female', who have for centuries been ridiculed and reviled.
Born in a village near Palakkad in Kerala, Jereena migrated to Ulsoor years ago unable to withstand the humiliation of family members and neighbours. Though Jereena has taken pains to make her `straight from the heart' autobiography a detailed account of the days of isolation and ostracism, she has chosen not to disclose the identities of her parents and relatives and her birth place. She also instructed the Kozhikode-based publisher not to carry photographs in the book.
The so called progressive Kerala is yet to recognise the very existence of hijaras, she said.
Ninety per cent of hijaras still live in extreme poverty and people like me have no choice other than engaging in commercial sex work or begging. I get five to six clients each day and that helps me keep the wolves from the door, said Jereena, sitting in front of her hamam, her face heavily made up and a colourful sari carefully draped around here.
In the language of hijaras, the hamam is the place where clients are received. I hope my autobiography will help my community fight for their basic rights and continue the battle against ostracism, she said.
Till recently a volunteer with the Shivajinagar-based NGO Sangama engaged in AIDS awareness programmes, Jereena and her 12-member group do not entertain clients who refuse to use condoms. For Jereena and her team, Bangalore is a relatively safe place compared to other locations in the South.
She has had a `marital' relationship with a man, Raveendran, for six years in the past and now has a 24-year-old adopted son. Son Dath, a fruit vendor, is also married a hijara recently.
Bangalore-based Hijara writes autobiography
Friday March 10 2006 00:00 IST
BANGALORE: It could well be billed a first-of-its-kind autobiography, offering a peek into a life lived on the margins of society. For Jereena, a eunuch engaged in commercial sex work at Ulsoor here for the last 27 years, is now giving the finishing touches to the story of her life, prising open a window to the world of a much denigrated and ostracised subclass.
Perhaps the first autobiography of a member of the third gender, it is set to be initially published in Malayalam in a few weeks time. The English, Kannada and Tamil translations would hit the stands before the end of the year.
Sans melodrama and pretence, the candid `Autobiography of a Hijara' will be a stirring account of the real life experiences of the hijaras and an eye-opener about life's aberrations. Jereena represents a minority in the community of eunuchs who are castrated males but are now considered `female', who have for centuries been ridiculed and reviled.
Born in a village near Palakkad in Kerala, Jereena migrated to Ulsoor years ago unable to withstand the humiliation of family members and neighbours. Though Jereena has taken pains to make her `straight from the heart' autobiography a detailed account of the days of isolation and ostracism, she has chosen not to disclose the identities of her parents and relatives and her birth place. She also instructed the Kozhikode-based publisher not to carry photographs in the book.
The so called progressive Kerala is yet to recognise the very existence of hijaras, she said.
Ninety per cent of hijaras still live in extreme poverty and people like me have no choice other than engaging in commercial sex work or begging. I get five to six clients each day and that helps me keep the wolves from the door, said Jereena, sitting in front of her hamam, her face heavily made up and a colourful sari carefully draped around here.
In the language of hijaras, the hamam is the place where clients are received. I hope my autobiography will help my community fight for their basic rights and continue the battle against ostracism, she said.
Till recently a volunteer with the Shivajinagar-based NGO Sangama engaged in AIDS awareness programmes, Jereena and her 12-member group do not entertain clients who refuse to use condoms. For Jereena and her team, Bangalore is a relatively safe place compared to other locations in the South.
She has had a `marital' relationship with a man, Raveendran, for six years in the past and now has a 24-year-old adopted son. Son Dath, a fruit vendor, is also married a hijara recently.