‘As I was a child with differences in sex development (DSD), my family elders hesitated to let me play or meet children outside our house, fearing social stigma. When I was a pre-teen (in the early 2000’s), my father and uncle brought me to Delhi as we presumed that healthcare professionals in India, a much larger country with better infrastructure and knowhow, than Nepal, could help us. Disappointingly, we hardly found any awareness about persons with DSD or intersex (the I in LGBTQIAP+) variations even in reputed healthcare institutions’, said Esan Regmi, an intersex person based in Nepal, at a public consultation on intersex persons’ rights, challenges and needs, that some of us co-organised in Bangalore, India, sometime back.
Esan, aged in their mid-30’s now, has been openly, relentlessly and courageously advocating for the social acceptance and human rights of intersex persons, worldwide, for a decade. This is significant as many of us (who are also open about our queerness) in India had minimal knowledge about people with DSD and intersex persons until a few months before that consultation. Hearteningly, by then, support networks for intersex persons were emerging in Nepal and we learnt from them.
Indigenous ‘queerealities’
Indigenous queer communities and cultures across south Asia have many commonalities amidst their localised practices and beliefs. The most visible among them are Kinnars and Hijras who are transgender queer and/or bisexual individuals/communities following an ‘alternate’ family setup and relevant traditions. Their culture partly resembles that of khwajasiras, Chukkis, Shivashaktis, Marladi kothis, Jogthis/Jogappas/Jogammas, Nupi Manabis et al, who are present across the south Asian subcontinent with local variants and influences.
However, many of us queer persons face immense discrimination and violence from state and society. Obtaining housing, healthcare, education and employment or finding accepting public spaces (like shops, eateries, playgrounds, parks, public transport, entertainment arenas) is tough especially if we are open about our queerness. Workplaces claiming to be ‘DEIB friendly’ seem shallow and farcical considering their poorly implemented and minimal affirmative policies. And like it is happening globally, rainbow capitalistism largely dominates Pride Month and Pride Marches, sidelining their historical importance.
The above distressing situation prevails despite affirmative legislations, judgements, policies, court and government orders like India’s NALSA v UoI judgement 2014 and IPC section 377 repeal, Nepal’s Marriage Equality provisions, Pakistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh’s queer affirmative laws/policies, that supposedly but selectively safeguard us and our interests.
Misplaced moralities and religious fundamentalism
Most of us in this region do not discuss about sex and sexuality easily and are discouraged from doing so, especially if we are ‘assigned female at birth’. Of course that does not imply that there is a large number of asexual (like me), celibate, abstinent or prude persons here. The fact that India is the most populous country in the world proves that we merely hesitate to discuss ‘sex’ – after all, only a small fraction of us were conceived through in vitro fertilisation or using other assisted reproductive technologies. Actually, there are umpteen taboos against using words such as homosexual, bisexual or intersex as they contain the word ‘sex’.
Zahid Khan (name changed), a gay person from Pakistan based in Europe currently, remarked, ‘I cannot be open about being homosexual in my native land due to religious fundamentalism. This convinced me to migrate abroad’. Of course, not everyone relocates to more affirmative environments. Similarly, an adolescent queer student in India from Bhutan, revealed that they hesitate disclosing their queerness in Bhutan and India fearing discrimination. Sadly, this prevails elsewhere in South Asia, too.
Selective and conditional acceptance
Akramul Hijra, a trans person from Bangladesh observed that despite the local Hijra culture, only some respect them. The mixed responses to the ‘Story of Sharifa’, a non-binary trans person being included in the local seventh graders’ History and Social Science textbook reiterates that. Akramul added, ‘We Queer people in Bangladesh cannot easily speak about our human rights openly. Further, Hijras are excluded from the mainstream queer rights movement. Security and safety issues exist for the Hijra community and in organising Pride’. Akramul, a cultural performer, filmmaker and journalist, is founder Tehai, a Dhaka based organisation working since 2020 with Hijras, kothis, chukkis and trans sex workers in various parts of Bangladesh on fore fronting their lives through art and culture.
In India, some straight (self-identified as not queer), Savarna (dominant Hindu caste and class origins), able-bodied persons run organisations, conduct research or speak/write on behalf of us intersectional queers, without our consent or request, professing to support or champion the rights of marginalised intersectional queers. This occupies the rightful space and overshadows the voices of us queers and is our wanton invisibilisation and suppression.
During the COVID-19 lockdown in India, Hijras, Shivashaktis and Jogappas whose blessings are usually sought, were humiliated and ostracised. Most religious fundamentalists unite against us queers while insensitive or uninformed/misinformed healthcare providers, government staff, mediapersons and educators misrepresent or pathologise us. Until this changes, we queers will continue being scorned, ridiculed, pitied, exoticised, harassed, abused, assaulted and alienated. Nevertheless, some of us queers continue expressing our Queer Joy whenever and wherever possible.
The write is gender fluid, LGBTQIAP+ peer counseller, co-founder Rang collective.
South Asia’s Queer Landscape
‘As I was a child with differences in sex development (DSD), my family elders hesitated to let me play or meet children outside our house, fearing social stigma. When I was a pre-teen (in the early 2000’s), my father and uncle brought me to Delhi as we presumed that healthcare professionals in India, a much larger country with better infrastructure and knowhow, than Nepal, could help us. Disappointingly, we hardly found any awareness about persons with DSD or intersex (the I in LGBTQIAP+) variations even in reputed healthcare institutions’, said Esan Regmi, an intersex person based in Nepal, at a public consultation on intersex persons’ rights, challenges and needs, that some of us co-organised in Bangalore, India, sometime back.
Esan, aged in their mid-30’s now, has been openly, relentlessly and courageously advocating for the social acceptance and human rights of intersex persons, worldwide, for a decade. This is significant as many of us (who are also open about our queerness) in India had minimal knowledge about people with DSD and intersex persons until a few months before that consultation. Hearteningly, by then, support networks for intersex persons were emerging in Nepal and we learnt from them.
Indigenous ‘queerealities’
Indigenous queer communities and cultures across south Asia have many commonalities amidst their localised practices and beliefs. The most visible among them are Kinnars and Hijras who are transgender queer and/or bisexual individuals/communities following an ‘alternate’ family setup and relevant traditions. Their culture partly resembles that of khwajasiras, Chukkis, Shivashaktis, Marladi kothis, Jogthis/Jogappas/Jogammas, Nupi Manabis et al, who are present across the south Asian subcontinent with local variants and influences.
However, many of us queer persons face immense discrimination and violence from state and society. Obtaining housing, healthcare, education and employment or finding accepting public spaces (like shops, eateries, playgrounds, parks, public transport, entertainment arenas) is tough especially if we are open about our queerness. Workplaces claiming to be ‘DEIB friendly’ seem shallow and farcical considering their poorly implemented and minimal affirmative policies. And like it is happening globally, rainbow capitalistism largely dominates Pride Month and Pride Marches, sidelining their historical importance.
The above distressing situation prevails despite affirmative legislations, judgements, policies, court and government orders like India’s NALSA v UoI judgement 2014 and IPC section 377 repeal, Nepal’s Marriage Equality provisions, Pakistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh’s queer affirmative laws/policies, that supposedly but selectively safeguard us and our interests.
Misplaced moralities and religious fundamentalism
Most of us in this region do not discuss about sex and sexuality easily and are discouraged from doing so, especially if we are ‘assigned female at birth’. Of course that does not imply that there is a large number of asexual (like me), celibate, abstinent or prude persons here. The fact that India is the most populous country in the world proves that we merely hesitate to discuss ‘sex’ – after all, only a small fraction of us were conceived through in vitro fertilisation or using other assisted reproductive technologies. Actually, there are umpteen taboos against using words such as homosexual, bisexual or intersex as they contain the word ‘sex’.
Zahid Khan (name changed), a gay person from Pakistan based in Europe currently, remarked, ‘I cannot be open about being homosexual in my native land due to religious fundamentalism. This convinced me to migrate abroad’. Of course, not everyone relocates to more affirmative environments. Similarly, an adolescent queer student in India from Bhutan, revealed that they hesitate disclosing their queerness in Bhutan and India fearing discrimination. Sadly, this prevails elsewhere in South Asia, too.
Selective and conditional acceptance
Akramul Hijra, a trans person from Bangladesh observed that despite the local Hijra culture, only some respect them. The mixed responses to the ‘Story of Sharifa’, a non-binary trans person being included in the local seventh graders’ History and Social Science textbook reiterates that. Akramul added, ‘We Queer people in Bangladesh cannot easily speak about our human rights openly. Further, Hijras are excluded from the mainstream queer rights movement. Security and safety issues exist for the Hijra community and in organising Pride’. Akramul, a cultural performer, filmmaker and journalist, is founder Tehai, a Dhaka based organisation working since 2020 with Hijras, kothis, chukkis and trans sex workers in various parts of Bangladesh on fore fronting their lives through art and culture.
In India, some straight (self-identified as not queer), Savarna (dominant Hindu caste and class origins), able-bodied persons run organisations, conduct research or speak/write on behalf of us intersectional queers, without our consent or request, professing to support or champion the rights of marginalised intersectional queers. This occupies the rightful space and overshadows the voices of us queers and is our wanton invisibilisation and suppression.
During the COVID-19 lockdown in India, Hijras, Shivashaktis and Jogappas whose blessings are usually sought, were humiliated and ostracised. Most religious fundamentalists unite against us queers while insensitive or uninformed/misinformed healthcare providers, government staff, mediapersons and educators misrepresent or pathologise us. Until this changes, we queers will continue being scorned, ridiculed, pitied, exoticised, harassed, abused, assaulted and alienated. Nevertheless, some of us queers continue expressing our Queer Joy whenever and wherever possible.
The write is gender fluid, LGBTQIAP+ peer counseller, co-founder Rang collective.
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