Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

TITLE PAGE

Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community

NAME OF THE STUDENT: Farnaza Governor

ROLL NO.: 17

PART TIME MBA I YR. IN SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP - (2009-2010)

2007-2008

SVKM’s

NMIMS University

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

Acknowledgements
I would like to start by thanking Dr. Animesh Bahabur for helping me with my project work,
from the initiation to the completion. His support and guidance was crucial in conducting the
research.

I would also like to thank Humsafar Trust for allowing me to interview its beneficiaries. I am
also grateful to Mr. Girish Kumar and all the counselors and employees who helped me
understand the Hijra Community in a better way.

A special thanks to all the research participants for sharing details about their lives and means of
income. I would also like to thank owners/managers of the organisations who cooperated to
participate in an in-depth interview and willingly discussed their views and opinions on the topic.

Lastly a special thanks to all the supporters who have supported me throughout my project work.

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

Abstract

This study was carried on in order to study the most prominent vocational interest among
the hijras and their acceptability by prospective employers; in the hijras‟ area of employment
interest. In the first phase of research convenient random sampling was used. In-depth interviews
were conducted with fifteen hijras, to find out their vocational interests. In the second phase, in-
depth interviews were conducted with the prospective employers in the hijras‟ field of interest. It
was found that the hijras have the interest and want to develop their interests of Dance, Cooking
and Beautician into their profession. In the second phase employers/owners of three dance
academies, three catering agencies and two beauty palours were interviewed and it was found
that the employers although said that they may accept a hijra, they still showed a lot of hesitance.
This hesitance was for various reasons. According to most of the employers education was the
key getting employment and hence recommended changes to come from the governmental level
to improve the hijra community‟s employment status.

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

Table of contents

Sr No Topic Page Number

1 Introduction 5-7

2 Problem Statement 7-8

3 Research Questions 8

4 Objectives of the Research 8

5 Literature Review 9 - 12

6 Methodology 12 - 14

7 Analysis and Discussion 14 - 23

8 Conclusion 24

9 Appendix A: Interview questions for the hijras 25

10 Appendix B: Interview questions for the employers/Managers of the 26

organisations

11 References 27

List of Illustrations

Sr. No. Illustrations Page Number

1 MSM Circle by Ashok Rao Kavi 5

2 Traditional Sources of Income 15

3 Percentage of Hijras Possessing a Vocational Skill 17

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

Introduction

In the western world sex and gender is theorized into a “binary system” which does not leave
place for a third role. Those who do not behave in a way which is considered to be appropriate
for their biological sex are regarded as transgender, whereas in South Asia the gender-variant
categories join communities which are meant for those who challenge the normative gender
construct, like the hijra community. Hijra community attracts people with different cross-gender
identities, attributes and behaviors. Hijra culture is so deeply rooted in the Indian society that it
can include people with different temperaments, personalities, sexual needs, gender-identities,
cross-gender behavior and levels of commitment without losing the cultural meaning

According to anthropologist Serena Nanda many hijras come from sexually ambiguous
backgrounds, they may be born intersexed, or they may have been born as male or female but
fail to develop fully at puberty, or some males choose to live as hijras without undergoing the
castration procedure. (1999) In India Eunuchs or Transgender are referred by many names the
most common being Hijras, they also known as Arravanis in Tamil Nadu, Pavaiyaa in Gujrat,
Khusra in Pakistan. Hijras are distinguished from MSM‟s (Men who have sex with men).

Figure 1 : MSM Circle by Ashok Rao Kavi.

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

The above figure clearly says that all MSMs are not in the hijra community. The Hijra construct
includes Akwas (non-castrated), Nirvans (Castrated), Jogtas (Devotees of God, mostly Lord
Shiva), Bhand Mausi (hijras who dance in weddings), Khada-koti (hijras who may dress in male
attire sometimes) and kotis (hijras dressed in female attire).

Most of the hijras are biologically males during birth, however as they grow they tend to develop
out of their gender role. They start to feel, think and behave like a girl. They like to be with girls
and behave like them and adopt the feminine gender role in the society. Thus they hardly ever
gain affection and support of their families. They suffer from sexual identity crisis and their
family labels them as „sinners‟ for behaving like a girl. They are rejected by the society and their
families because of cross-gender behavior and cross-gender identification. The hijra culture gives
them a chance to express their cross-gender behavior and gender identity and also offers them
economic and social shelter. This leads them to come and join the Hijra Communities. (Serena
Nanda, 1999)

To enter the hijra community they go through the reet1 ceremony. Hijras may be castrated or
non-castrated, however less than 10% are castrated (Ranade,1983, Preston, 1987). The main aim
of the ritual of getting castrated is to renounce and gain a second life of a hijra. A castrated man
is a “real hijra” who has the powers to bless and rights to perform on auspicious occasions. This
is the religious and traditional occupation of a hijra which is called Badhai. However, a study by
The Humsafar Trust shows that 81% have no other source of income than sex work, 19%
reported involvement in other occupation, out of those nearly 60% were involved in begging
(mangti), and a negligible portion were in other jobs, like carpentry or part-time watchman.2
Thus, the hijra community has three traditional employments, Dhanda (sex work), Mangti and
Badhai. Within the community Badhai is seen to be the most respectable profession, whereas
Dhanda is looked down upon.

Hijra community has complex dynamics of power & hierarchical system. The whole of Mumbai
has seven gharanas of hijras, namely, Lalanwala, Lashkarwala, Dongriwala, Punawala,
Ballakwala, Chaklewala, Bhendibazarwala. The gharanas are not ranked either do they have any

1
A ritual where the young man enters the Hijra gharana through ritual offering made to the Guru/Nayak
2
The Humsafar Trust, Mumbai, India’ , Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Male Sex Workers Based at Truckstops E. Noronha,
th
P. Passano, P. Todankar, May 6 2010

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

meaningful cultural or social differences among them. However, each gharana has its own story
of origin and own set of rules to follow. Each of the clans is headed by a Nayak. Below the
Nayaks there are Gurus who have number of chelas. In the guru-chela relationship, the Guru is
the senior person and they provide for the material needs and take care of the chelas, and every
chela is expected to respect and obey their guru and surrender their earnings to their gurus. Gurus
also provide a means of livelihood by providing the chelas an economic territory, which no other
chelas of any other guru may access without permission.

They are a formal registry for the hijra community. The place of registry which is known as
Chali is located in Byculla. After a chela is registered under a guru in any one of the gharanas
after paying a fee they are expected to follow the rules of that gharana. All the chelas under one
guru are like sisters. The guru‟s sisters are called as aunts or “gurubhais” and the guru‟s guru is
called “Guru Amma” or “Nani Guru.” The Guru most of the times dominate on the chelas and
decide the profession they will go into.

Problem Statement

The number of hijras in the nation has increased and they form a huge part of the unorganized
sector. The estimated population of hijras in India is 1.2 million. Even after sixty years of India‟s
independence, no official data has ever been made to estimate the actual existence of hijras. Out
of the hijra population, 99% of them are either illiterate or semi-literate, having no source of
income and 90% of hijras live in poverty and grief conditions. 3 As hijras are marginalized from
the society they do not receive education and do not have a source of livelihood. However, as
hijras are normal human beings they can be trained in some vocation if they are not educated.
They earn their living through their traditional sources of income (begging, sex work or dancing
on marriages or child birth). These sources of income are irregular and involve a high amount of
risk to their lives.

By identifying and developing the skill set of these people they can be brought into the organized
sector or mainstream society and thereby contribute to the overall economy. Some major

3
Source: Groundreport.com, India’s Third Sex, Citizens without Rights by Monjib Mochahari, March 21st 2009.

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

obstacles in integrating this community people to mainstream sources of employment are the
attitude of the general population towards them. It will be difficult for them to be employed in
the organized sector if negative attitudes prevail towards them. Therefore there is a need to find
out the attitude of employers towards recruiting hijras in various jobs.

This research will focus on identifying skills that the hijras posses and are willing to develop for
getting suitable jobs. Also the research aims to find out the attitude of society towards Hijra‟s,
with reference to the factors that hinder the acceptance of hijra‟s at workplace.

Research Questions

The research questions that would be addressed here are:

What are the professional interests of hijras?

What is the level of acceptance of hijras in the work field?
What is the overall attitude of employers towards recruiting hijras?
What are the interventions that can be taken as per the hijra community to stream line
them in the society?

Objectives of the research

1. To find out the professional interest of hijras and vocational skills hijras are interested to develop
in Mumbai
2. To find out the extent of acceptance of hijras by employers in the professions of their interest
3. To identify interventions which can help the hijra community be a part of the mainstream
professions in the society

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

Literature review

The Hijra community has been in existence since long time, but unfortunately the community
hasn‟t received any acceptance till date. They have been involved with various professions and
vocations. Recently there have been many literature published on the employment of the Hijra‟s.
The case studies of Hijra‟s who have successfully established themselves at work have also been
published.

History of employment of Hijra community:

During the Mughal Reign hijras were employed in high-status jobs in the imperial Indian
palaces. Hijras were known for their strength, ability to provide protection for ladies and
trustworthiness. Hijras served as messengers, watchmen, attendant or guard for the palace.

Historical sources also support the view that homosexual prostitution is important, if not central
to the hijra community. Nineteenth and twentieth century ethnographic accounts of hijras in
Indian census claim that hijras kidnap small boys for the purpose of sodomy or prostitution.
(Bhimbhai, 1901; Faridi, 1899; Ibbetson, MacLagen and Rose, 1911).

The Deviant Hijra Career:

Ritual performances at weddings or a birth of male child is the most prestigious career in the
hijra community. This occupation is a respectable link between the hijras and the non-hijras
because the work attaches a religious meaning to being a hijra. Prostitution is a very low status
career within the hijra community. The individual prostitutes are carefully supervised by their
gurus so that they do not run away with any customers. Begging for alms involves less
supervision from gurus than prostitution. Begging for alms does not carry any inherent prestige,
nor does it diminishes prestige or is stigmatized in the community.

Present condition of the hijra community: As the census data does not count hijras as an
alternative sex there is no exact data for the estimated population of hijras in India. According to
the All India Hijra Kalyan Sabha there are only a few hundred “real hijras” countrywide, the rest
numbering around 5,00,000 which are victims of forcible castration.

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

A Petition passed in Chandhigarh court revealed that 1,00,000 hijras are created by forcible
castration. This petition states an estimate of 450 big, 1600 medium and 35,000 small Dhams
(places) where young castrated children and trained to sing, dance and clap in the peculiar
fashion, and put out in the streets to beg. The petition also reveals the auction of hijras taking
place in Bhidibazar, Pila House, Koliwada, Highway road and Andheri, in Mumbai. 4

Hijras do not show up in a favourable light anymore in India, thus they face challenges with
professional employment. They mostly beg for money in public places, or are involved in
commercial sex. Dancing and singing on birth ceremonies or wedding would hardly fetch them
any income. (Subramaniam & Jayaraman, 2009)

A.M.Shah (1961), an Indian sociologist, stated that the main business of the hijras was to dance
at births and marriages; however hijras who lived outside the organized hijra communes might
earn their living through homosexual prostitution.

A study of hijras in Lucknow by Sihna in 1967, acknowledges the role of hijras as performers,
but views the major motivation for recruitment to the hijra community as the satisfaction of
individual‟s homosexual urges, i.e. a satisfaction related to their engaging into prostitution.

A petition filed by Dr. Khaki for the rights of eunuchs lead the Government of Pakistan to ensure
employment for eunuchs under the 2% quota of PWD in public and private sectors. Dr. Khaki
researched the conditions in which the hijras lived and discovered them to be the most oppressed
and deprived segment of the society, subjected to humiliation and molestation. They get no
opportunity to study once they enter the hijra community and are instead trained to beg, dance or
become prostitutes. A registration of eunuchs was ordered by the Supreme Court in Pakistan.
The survey to register the eunuchs was completed only in Punjab. From the interviews along
with the surveys it was found that many of them had low income or no income at all. Many of
them remain depressed because of the stigma attached to them in the society. This stigma keeps
the eunuchs from registering and thus making the process slow.5

Lynton and Rajan (1974) indicated that once they join the hijra community they cease these
sexual activities in order to conform to the community rules. According to one of the hijra leader

4
Source: Prime Time feature, Eunuchs cry for Justice by Vinod Bhel, April 23 rd 2007.
5
Source: Dawn Media Group, Help on way for Eunuchs by Nasir Iqbal, june 17th 2009.

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

interviewed by Lynton, these restrictions are necessary if the hijras are to maintain respect for
themselves as sannyasis (ascetics and religious mendicants).

Hijras in southern India are training as therapists and beauticians in a move to integrate them in a
society which largely shuns them. Mrs. Nikkila, a Chennai based beautician and therapist teaches
the group of 30 hijras in South Madras, six ranges of treatment ranging from pedicure to
massages. She works with an aim of instilling a sense of self-worth and to impart the group with
skills by which they can earn an income. Kalai Kani is a theatre performer and film artist also
involved with the group. She teaches them to relax and use their voices more effectively, to
change the tone and pitch.6

Hijras are the new tax collectors of the Municipal Cooperation in Patna Municipal officials feel
hijras can be a source of embarrassment to people, forcing them to cough up overdue tax. A
Municipal officer Ravikant Tiwari says, “We are trying to make people aware that they must pay
their taxes and this is being done with support from the Hijra Community” These new tax
collectors made good success the very first day itself by collecting 4,25,000 rupees from shop
owners. The hijras are not given a salary and instead receive 4% of the amount they collect from
defaulters.7

The Ministry for Home Affairs may soon consider raising a separate regiment of the hijras
community in the country."Hijras will discharge effective duties along the international border
areas if scope is created for them," Home Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Tako Dabi, wrote in a
letter to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram. "If engaged in policing and other paramilitary
forces, they may do good service." A hijra Laxmi Tripathi fighting for the rights of the
community in Mumbai says that history has borne testimony that the community has always
remained loyal to the nation. Unfortunately the government has not shown faith in them and not
giving them an opportunity to do something for the community. 8

The focus of this research is on the existing and future employment opportunities of the hijra
community. The literature review throws light on the sectors where the hijras have been working

6
Source: BBC News World Edition, Beauty Therapy for Indian Eunuchs by Paddy Maguire, BBC News, Chennai,
th
September 25 2005.
7
Source: CNN-IBN, Patna Eunuchs turn Tax Collectors by Prabhakar Kumar, November 9th 2006.
8
Source: Midday, Eunuchs may prove potency at the border by J Dey and Bipin Kumar Singh, May 10th 2010.

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

and the new work areas where they have recently entered. It also shows how successful they
have been at the work other than their traditional means of livelihood.

Methodology

Design:

It is a descriptive type of research because we want to ascertain the characteristics of the

variables involved. To find out the factors influencing the acceptance of Hijra‟s.

Operational Definitions:

These operational definitions were formulated on the basis of the literature review and the
researcher‟s interaction with the hijra community and the counselors at Humasafar Trust,
keeping in mind the research problem and the objectives of the research.

Dignified Employment: The term Dignified employment in this context means a job where the
person is treated with equal respect and given rights as provided to all co-workers

Acceptance of hijras: The term acceptance is defined as fully accepting the hijra as a co-worker
and an employee as they are, providing all the rights and recognition to them. The following are
the three parameters indicating the acceptance of hijra at work place.

Being able to work with them, as with any other co-worker, on daily basis.

Not being ashamed to be seen with them in public.

Accepting them as individuals and not ridiculing or demeaning them on the basis of their
sexuality.

Vocational Interests of the hijras: A vocational interest is defined as a hobby or a talent which
an individual wants to develop as a profession.

Attitude of employers towards recruiting hijras: Attitude is defined as the willingness of the
employer to recruit the hijra as an employee.

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

Comfort level of the hijras: Level of comfort of hijras is defined as:

Being able to work with male and female co-workers.

Being able to adapt and adjust to the working atmosphere outside the community.

Sampling:

The sampling universe is the Hijra Community in Mumbai. The individual members chosen from
the total population of the hijra community formed the sampling unit. In this research, the hijras
availing the facilities of The Humsafar Trust formed the sampling unit. The sampling frame will
be hijras gone through the ritual ceremony of Reet and performing at least one of the three
traditional professions of hijras and employers/managers involved in hiring, in vocational sectors
in which the hijras show interest in.

In the first phase of the research the sample size is of fifteen hijras. In the second phase the
sample includes eight organisations, out of which three are dance academies, three are catering
agencies and two are beauty palours. In this research we will consider only those eunuchs who
earn their living or a part of their living by any one of the traditional professions of the hijras.
The organisations in the sample were chosen on the basis of the results of the vocational interests
of the hijras in the first phase. The sampling techniques used were convenient and random
sampling methods. The delimitations of this study is geographical, conceptual and sample.

Procedure:

PHASE I: Fifteen in-depth interviews.

The interview questions were designed and modified with the help of the research team at The
Humsafar Trust. A semi-structured style of interviewing was used, where the pre-set sequence of
pre-framed questions were followed. They interviewer had the freedom of skipping some
questions or probing further to know in detail about the interviewees. The researcher had taken a
prior consent of every interviewee for her participation. The venue of the interview was chosen
on the basis of the convenience of the participants and each interview lasted about twenty to
twenty-five minutes and the responses of the interviewee were noted down accordingly. The list
of interview question is attached in Appendix A.

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

PHASE II: Eight in-depth interviews with the identified organisations

In the second phase of research a semi-structured style of interviewing was used. The interviews
were done with the owners and/or with managers who were responsible for the overall operations
of the organisations as well as hiring of new employees. The venues of the interviews were as
per the participant‟s convenience and the interviews lasted for an average of about twenty-five to
thirty minutes, where the participant‟s responses were noted down. The list of the interview
questions is attached in Appendix B.

Analysis and Discussion

The data will be analyzed phase wise. In the first phase the data will be analyzed according to the
questions the respondents answered in the interviews. In the second phase the data will be
analyzed according to the set of variables.

Results and discussion

Dignified Employment:

The meaning of „dignified employment‟ for the hijras is a job where they do not have to
surrender their self-respect, where they are treated with respect and are not subject to ridicule.
Put in the words of a hijra. “We want to do a job where are izzat (self-respect) is safe and where
we have less risk to our health.”

Traditional Sources of Income and the hijras’ attitude towards the same:

The most common source of income seems to be Mangti (Begging). Eight out of fifteen
respondents are involved in Mangti, other five respondents are involved in Dhanda (sex work)
and only two of the respondents were involved in Bhadai (dancing on wedding, child birth or
other occasions).

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

Traditional Sources of Income

Bhadai
13%

Dhanda Mangti
33% 54%

Figure 2: Traditional Sources of Income

However, it has to be noted that a hijra may be involved in two or more professions at the same
time. For e.g. some hijras may be involved in mangti as well as sex work. During the interviews
only one out of the fifteen hijras mentioned of being involved in another profession apart from
the three traditional professions. She was engaged part time into selling fish and would also earn
a living through mangti (which she referred to as a ritualistic means of earning).

Out of the fifteen hijras interviewed 8 of them stated to be satisfied with the jobs they do. Most
of the hijras who were satisfied where involved in mangti or Badhai. Out of the five hijras
involved in dhanda four of them were not satisfied with their work. This is because dhanda
involves a lot of risk to the life. And it is also not to be seen as a respectful job in the community.

On being asked whether they would like to work in any other profession of their interest apart
from the traditional professions, they said at first it would be difficult to convince the guru. As in
the hijra community most of the gurus make it mandatory to follow a specific profession. It
depends on whether the guru gives permission to work outside these professions.

A group of 9 hijras have started an organisation called „Hezda Association‟ in 1987, in Reay
Road locality, with the purpose to organize the profession of hijras and to bring in

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

professionalism to their occupation of Badhai. It is been running successfully since then.

Although this business takes the traditional profession of hijras forward, this shows that given an
opportunity they can get into self-employment and generate revenue for themselves.

Vocational interests:

Nine out of the fifteen hijras showed vocational interest in dancing, eight out of the fifteen hijras
also possessed skills of cooking which they would like to develop as a profession, and 3 out of
the fifteen possessed skills of being a beautician. These were the top three identified vocations in
which hijras could be given professional training and be employed. Apart from these three
vocational interests some other interests were also visible although in minority. For e.g. one of
the hijra was eager to make football as her profession, another hijra had the talent of
designing/making imitation jewellery.

Two of the hijras interested in cooking were quiet hesitant to take it up as a profession and earn a
living from it. As they were under a guru whose rules were very stringent, they did not want to
give up their traditional profession. As quoted by one of them, “I am happy begging and cooking
for my guru. Our life is only like this, beg, earn and eat. It is our right to beg because we are like
this”

Thirteen out of the fifteen hijras want to make their vocational interests into a profession. That
means almost 87% of the hijras interviewed, given a chance, are willing to make their interests
into a profession.

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

Percentage of hijras possessing a vocational skill

Beautician
15%
Dancing
45%

Cooking
40%

Figure 3: Percentage of Hijras Possessing a Vocational Skill

Hijra’s feeling of acceptability outside their community:

10 out of fifteen hijras who were interviewed feel that they may not be acceptable outside their
community. That means almost 67% of the interviewed population have a negative outlook on
being accepted in the society. The two other hijras were totally negative on being accepted in the
society, and the rest had a feeling that some might accept them only for the sake of work and will
not be able to behave with them as they might behave with other normal people.

For the very need of acceptance people join the hijra community. People with cross-gender
behaviors and cross-gender identities join the hijra community so that they can express their
feminine side openly and can gain acceptance at least from the hijra community. As put in one of
the hijras words, “Why should I go outside the community to work when people will not accept
me as Aurat (women) and will tease me. I am comfortable with my community because I can be
what I am”

Comfort Level of hijras to work outside their community:

Twelve out of fifteen hijras said that they will be comfortable to work outside their community.
That means 80% of the interviewed population were comfortable working outside the

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

community. Out of these twelve hijras six of them mentioned that they would be comfortable
working with females more than working with males, and out of these six hijras four of them
were involved into dhanda. Hijras who are involved in dhanda are mostly not comfortable
working with men and prefer working or being with women.

One of the hijra involved in dhanda said that, “We have to tolerate men of different kind, and
men are violent, if we do not do according to what they say they will show you a knife”

Suggestion to NGOs/CBOs working for hijras to develop their vocational interests and help
them get dignified job:

The informal conversations with the hijra counselors at Humsafar Trust and the interviews with
the hijras have brought to light certain opinions and suggestions from the community itself.

Most of the NGOs working for hijras focus mostly on health based issues and they are less
focused on developing vocational interests of the community. Only if NGOs will focus a little
more on developing the vocational interests to make them more polished, they will be able to
leave the high-risk profession of dhanda.

One of the hijras also mentioned that the NGOs working for Transgender or Hijras can tie-up
with NGOs providing educational services and encourage the hijra community to get educated so
that they can get a good job.

Seven out of the fifteen interviewed hijras mentioned that NGOs can provide consultancy
services for hijra who want to start up a new business and also provide market linkage (so that
their identity, that of a “hijra” is not revealed to the potential customers of their business)

NGOs should also publicize the talent of hijras by keeping competitions or events associate with
the general community. They can also try and send some of their good dancers to participate in
reality shows, so that they can build a career in dance and be recognized for their talent.

Opinion on role of government reservation policies:

Reservations as explained by the researcher to the hijras were percentage of seats in schools,
colleges, and public and private sector jobs kept back for the hijra community. All the fifteen

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

interviewed hijras said that they needed reservations for the community in schools, colleges and
jobs. All of them more strongly mentioned the need of reservations in jobs. According to one of
them, “If government accepts us, slowly everyone will have to accept us.”
So Government Reservation Policies seems to be the key to acceptance of hijras in the working
class.
Eight out of the fifteen interviewed hijras mentioned that reservations should be more in colleges
and jobs, because when a child is in school they might not be in a position to decide or confirm
their identity. But once they are out and see the world they then make a decision to join the hijra
community. Thus, their need more reservations in colleges and jobs.

As in the first phase of research the identified vocational interests of the hijras were into dance,
cooking and beautician, the second phase of research involves in-depth interviews with
employers in these three fields.

Acceptance of hijras in work environment outside their community:

The employers of three dance academies, three catering agencies and two beauty palours were
interviewed. Out of these eight organisations, employers of six organisations said that they will
recruit hijras if they have appropriate skills. The employers of other two organisations were
negative about recruiting hijras in their organization.
The employers of the six organisations who are ready to accept them have some set roles in mind
that they can perform. As the employer of Lazeez Caterers, Mr. Ali Sethwala mentioned, “In our
community cooking is a religious activity and our customers will want only people from our
community to cook. But other jobs like cleaning or delivery would be okay for them provided
they wear male attire at work.”
The other two catering agencies did mention that they would accept them but will not like to
disclose it publically, as it might cause harm to their business. As mentioned by Mr. Raj, the
owner of Raj Caterers and Decorators, “I have no issues in employing hijras behind the scene.
They can work in the kitchen, but should not be visible in the parties, as the larger society will
not accept them.” Mr. Sailesh Kadam, General Manager of Imperial Hotel and Catering Agency,
said, “I am personally okay with employing them and working with them. But as my customers
sometimes would like to meet the cook, it would be awkward to introduce a hijra as a cook,

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

because my customers might not be able to digest the fact that they are employed with us.” Mr.
Kadam also mentioned that initially the hijras will have to adjust a lot and be strong willed, if
they want to survive in the workplace.
The two owners of the dance academies, who showed acceptance of the hijras, where not very
rigid in regards to the role of the hijra as an employee of the organization. Mr.Sudhakar, the
owner of M. Sudhakar Dance Classes said that, “I have worked with hijras in several movies and
stage shows. I find them as normal as another person professionally, and this is what matters. I
also have some hijra students and all of us here have no problems at all working with them!” Mr.
Shrish, the owner of S.D.W.M-Shrish‟s Dance and Fitness Studio, had never worked with a hijra,
however he was very open and accepting of the idea of employing hijras. He said, “Till today no
hijra has come to my office to ask for a job, but if they do I‟ll surely be willing to work with
them. For me, if a person has talent and is presentable, it doesn‟t matter if it‟s a he, she or and
E.”
One of the managers of Hair Brush-Hair and Skin Salon, who is responsible for recruiting of the
employees, mentioned that she would be able to hire a hijra provided they behave in a well-
mannered and polite way. She said, “Apart from having the right skills, dress code, and the way
of speaking does matter. I would not expect my employee to wear a sari, with loud make up and
heavy jewellery.”
Even though out of the three catering agencies all three were accepting hijras, hijras are more
fully accepted in the field of dancing. In spite of one dance academy not accepting them as
employees, the other two dance academies accept them more fully than the catering industry.

Reasons for Non-Acceptance:

The reason for non-acceptance from one of the dance academy, Habiba‟s Dance Academy, is
that hijras are feared and mocked at in the society. Mrs. Habiba mentions that this will also
happen in her academy if she employees a hijra. She said, “My students will not remain serious
and focus. It will change the whole atmosphere of the class.” Although Mrs. Habiba has worked
with hijras in several movies she says that it is very difficult for a normal person to handle them
as a choreographer. She quoted her experience of working with hijras as: “They are very good at
heart, they are very professional and very honest, but it is very difficult for normal people to
choreograph them as they have a very typical body language.”

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

The reason given for non-acceptance of hijras as an employee by another local beauty palour,
Leeyas, is the fear of losing clients. As put in the owners words, “This is a „Ladies‟ beauty
parlour, and many ladies will not like to be treated by hijras. This business of a beauty palour
earns me my daily bread, so I can‟t afford to lose my business, so I can‟t take the risk.” She
mentioned that if she would have been financially secure she would have definitely considered
employing them in the organization and not worried about loss of clients. She was also of the
opinion that beauty palours would not be a more acceptable place for hijras to work as most of
the female population in the Indian society fear the hijras.

Attitude of employers towards the hijra community:

All the eight employers have the view that the hijras are capable and can do a proper job if they
want to. Only owners of the two dance academies out of the eight organisations were aware of
hijras working in professional settings, and they also had experience working with them. Both of
these organisations had a positive experience working with them; however for one of the dance
academy this positive experience does not lead them to accepting hijras to work in their
organization.
On being asked whether the social stigma towards the hijras is justified or not, all of them said
that there is injustice towards this community. According to Mr. Chauhan, the co-owner of
Habiba Dance Academy, the professions that hijras are presently into is not their Dharam
(religion) or Karma. He said, in fact, they are being forced into it because of lack of options; they
are born the way they are. They have a very positive attitude towards the hijra community,
however this doesn‟t lead them to accept hijras as employees as they feel they are feared and will
not be accepted by the larger society.
According to Mr. Sudhakar, the owner of M. Sudhakar Dance Classes, the hijras who are into
mangti or dhanda have chosen the wrong path. He has seen many hijras working in professional
settings and doing a good job for earning a living. He also feels that it‟s the choice of the
individual to leave the society and join the hijra community, so it‟s a wrong choice on their part
to leave their education, as they are playing with their future.

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

Views of employers on the practicality of hijra community merging with the working class:
From the in-depth interviews with the eight employers it can be inferred that the society needs to
see not only up-to-date knowledge and skills in the hijras but also a change in their behavior and
presentation for them to be accepted in the society. By change in behavior the employers meant,
that they should not be loud, aggressive and abusive. They should be polite and well-mannered
and should continuously adopt either male or female attire whichever they are comfortable in. By
change in presentation the employers meant, dressing in a decent manner (avoid loud make-up
and heavy jewellery regularly) and dress as per the office dress codes.
Mrs. Habiba, from Habiba Dance Academy said, “They will not be able to work in the outside
community, if they want to be accepted by the society they will have to change to a large extent
and behave like „normal‟ human beings, at least at work. They need to be civilized and have
basic human discipline.”
According to all the other employers who were ready to accept hijras as employees of their
organization felt that it would be practical for hijras to be a part of the working class provided
they have the skill/knowledge, adhere to the dress code of the company and behave in a non-
aggressive and polite manner. However 2 of the employers (both catering agencies) mentioned
that if others in their field start employing hijras, then they would employ them without worrying
about what the society would say. This shows that if an initiative is taken towards employing
them by some of the companies, then there would be many more people willing to employ them.

Challenges faced by the society to accept hijras:

The one major challenge is the cultural and social meaning applied to hijras. Society at large
fears the hijras. Five out of the eight employers interviewed feel that the fear of hijras curse is
still prevalent in the Indian society, and three out of the eight employers interviewed believe in
the supernatural powers of hijras to bless and curse.
The second major challenge is that the co-workers might not accept them, or might not be
comfortable working with a hijra. Four out of the eight employers felt that the co-workers might
not be able to adjust, or the hijras might not be able to adjust with the co-workers. Mr. Sailesh
Kadam, General Manager of Imperial Hotel and Catering Agency, said, “As an employer I
would be there to help them, but they‟ll have to adjust, or sometimes even tolerate their co-
workers behavior.”

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

The third challenge is the level of literacy among the community. After the initiation of a person
into the hijra community, she leave contact with the society, she also gives up education. As seen
in the literature review 99% of the hijra population in India is illiterate or semi-literate. Although
they can be trained in any vocational skill, education would give that a new outlook to life and
will teach them to be well-cultured and well-mannered.

Recommendations/Suggestions by employers to make the hijras a part of the mainstream:

Three of the employers specifically mentioned some suggestions which might help integrate the
hijra community into the mainstream. According to Mr. Sailesh Kadam, it is very necessary to
train them into being more professional, well-mannered and polite, if they want to enter the
service industry. He also adds that if the Government of India makes some reservations for the
hijras, nothing would stop them to get employment.
Although the employer of Leeyas beauty parlour was not accepting of hijras to work in her
parlour, she suggested that they could be more accepted in jobs like driving or any office work.
According to Mr. Chauhan, the co-owner of Habiba Dance Academy, the government should
accept them as a third sex, they should revise all their governmental forms to encompass the
others category, apart from male or female. According to Mrs. Habiba, education is the key to
their acceptance in the society, so they should first be provided with basic education and the
government should take a stand to reserve seats to the hijra community in schools and colleges,
to encourage them to continue with their studies.

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

Conclusion

The professional interest of the hijras is majorly into dancing, followed by cooking and then by
interest in working as a beautician. 87% of the interviewed hijras are willing to make their
interest as a profession.
On the face of it the society seems to pity the employment status of a hijra. But when it comes to
employing them in their organization people are still hesitant. This hesitance may be because of
different reason, like fear of loss of business, tarnishing the brand name in the larger society or
merely being ashamed to show the society that a hijra is a part of „our organization‟.
For the hijras to be accepted in the society they will have to take a step forward to modify their
and behave in a polite and well-mannered way. They will have to be trained to get a level of
professionalism in them to match up with the requirements of the mainstream society.

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

Appendix-A

Interview questions for the hijras

Ask about the demographic information (Name, age, gharana, how many members in the
household, average monthly income, education qualification)
What is your source of livelihood?
Are you satisfied with what you are doing currently or are you planning or thinking of
doing something else for your earning? If yes, what is it that you are planning of?
What are you interested in? / What are your hobbies? / What do you like doing?
Would you like to develop your hobby into a profession?
To what extent do you feel the society will accept you as a member of the working class?
Would you want to work will people outside your community?
Will you be comfortable if people outside your community willingly accept you in their
workplace?
How will NGO/CBO help you to develop your interests?
Do you think reservations for hijras should be there in schools, colleges and/or jobs?

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

Appendix-B

Interview questions for the employers/Managers of the organisations

What is the number of employees in your organization?

Are there any formal or informal bases of reservation for employment in your
organization?

Are you aware about hijras working in Cooperates in India or any other country?

Have you ever worked with a hijra? If yes how was the experience like?

Do you think the social stigma attached to hijras is justified?

Do you believe that hijras have some supernatural power or are evil? If yes, why so, if no
why not?

Do you think hijras can be merged into the working class? (Probe, ask for suggestions)

Would you hire a hijra if she has the required skills for the job? (Probe, if yes then ask
what motivates them to take this step, if no ask what holds them back)

Would you feel comfortable to work with the hijra?

Do you think hijras can be trained to acquire skills for their jobs?

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 Acceptability of Hijras in work environment outside their community, June 2010

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