Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate how people are aware of the genuineness of Transgender people. It will be helpful for researchers who are still confused about many myths associated with the transgender community. A qualitative method of research has been used for the study. This research article highlights how the initial stage of transgender is started. Moreover, the study also reveals that, when the physical appearance of individuals is indicated to be unsatisfactory to fit in the ideal image of a male or a female, then people entitle them as transgender or Hijra or Khusra. It has been found through the review of the literature and methodological approaches of this article that, harsh words are often associated with the transgender community, there are looked down upon because people think they are homosexual, gay, lesbian, and queer. Mostly, they are referred to by using dishonouring, ridiculing, and insulting language, especially in Pakistan.

Key Words

Transgender, LGBTQ, Beggary, Dancing, trustworthiness, Guru, Chellas

Introduction

It is a universal truth that humankind was created by Almighty Allah and He says in the Holy Quran that “O” mankind I created the first person Hazrat Adam from dust and all human being are created from Adam and Eva (Surah no 4 Al-Nisa: verses 1) then you are apportioned in nations only for the purpose of identification (Ani Amelia Zainuddin & Zaleha Abdullah Mahdy 2016). Here now the core focus of this paper is on transgender, people with no or both genders, who exist in every part of the world. The people who do not fit in the ideal definition of male and female, are mostly associated with different professions like beggary, dancing, and sexual practices. Transgenders are often onymous as Hijras, Khadra, and Khusra in our society. There was a time when Hijras had spiritual power and authority in their prayers that the people used to ask them to pray for others, for their good health and the long life of their children traditionally this type of belief was very much strong in many segments of society but nowadays the picture is change and different from the traditional beliefs.

If we analyze, how males and females are different in gender during the time of birth, the word 'SEX' will come to our mind, which is related to examining the gender of a child, it usually provides the differentiated physical organs between male and female. Here it is important to discuss that we often use biological characteristics to determine the sex of a child (Khan, 2012). Word sex mostly creates physical and biological differences between males and females, and sex is also evident in teenagers when muscles, body hairs, height, and voice are developed and the developed hips, breasts, and other internal organs are very different.

However, there are two words, sex, and gender which are commonly used in differentiating between males and females. Although the word sex is different from gender, the word sex exists to differentiate between males and females, beyond the word gender refers to maleness, behaviours, cultures, and social attitudes. When a person is measured through the biological terminology as sex likewise, he or she is not taking place for male or female then definitely he or she belongs to the third gender or transgender.

Transgender frequently neutered from males, historically extended to the ninth century BC. The demand to guard against imperial harm was accepted. Practically these beliefs have been started by China, where eunuchs remained trusted through the mission of a self-protective imperial harem and similarly, due to simple and weak attitudes and characteristics, transgenders were best loved as compared to other genders. The transgender got relief in the Mughal dynasty from the year 1526 to 1857 when they saw their status as harems as a key advisor of monarchs (Tanveer Abbas 2014).

Transgender (popularly known as HIJRA) was recognized as Hindu origin, and they had always remained in the same condition. Hijras were correlated to worship of their Bahuchara Mata, the form of Mother Goddess for whose sake they undergo emasculation. In profit, the Goddess shall be insured to be gifted for them to approach and authority of blessing people with offspring (Tabassum & Jamil 2014)

There are two different senses associated with transgender identification, and both of them are co-related in origin, first is meaningful and respected with a full sense of behaviour and expression identity, which shows that the transgender (from the male side) is commonly known as those persons, who are unable to fertile due to lack of testis and other male organs, which are used to sexual attachment with the female. The transgender, (from the female side) is not able to produce children, even with no command on the process to provide any kind of children, nor have a quality to feed. The second sense associated with transgender is heavy, expensive, and immoral, that they can be determined only by heterosexual, homosexual, lesbianism, and transvestism (Aurat Foundation 2016).

The concept of hijra has its history which is existing with different names from various periods of several rulers and many empires and countries of the world. It was commonly known that transgender can control themselves from any evil attacks and they possessed a spiritual divine, extraordinary intelligence of understanding as compared to other traditionally gendered, and it had been believed that transgender is God-gifted and dually respected in all parts of the abovementioned areas (Aurat foundation, 2016).

It is a common quotation that the whole things revolve mainly around the domain of economics all over the world, furthermore, men determined societies to get the powerful role from women and also tried to press the role of blurred or transgender people to dishearten their positions and also to set them distant from financial matters like holding properties, wealth and land. Beyond transgender, the community was regularly active from the old history of Asia to Europe, North America to South America, and the Middle East to Africa it had been believed that transgender is God-gifted and dually respected in all parts of the abovementioned areas. (Aurat Foundation, 2016).




Background

Transgender in Religious Perspectives

It is widely spread that transgender has a very close connection with all the religions of the world, especially Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. The biological sex transformation a source of paranormal control echoes the enchanted topographies that have been founded in Hindu methodology. The word transgender is used in different names in different religions for example Mukhannathun, Tritiyaprakriti, Katoey, third gender, and third sex (Aurat Foundation, 2016). The word HIJRA is generally used in the Subcontinent, therefore, the same meaning is used in Judaism as “Saris” and used in Christianity as “Eunuch”. (Aurat Foundation, 2016)




Transgender in an Islamic Perspective

It is a common concept that people of transgender have been considered as God-gifted persons, extraordinary performers, existing special wisdom and God has blessed as special light insight and they have also been assigned as caretakers of shrines and tombs (Aurat Foundation 2016). Islam has been given respect and equal rights to all human beings without any identification of colour, caste, sex, and gender, it is evident in the last Sermon of Holly Prophet Hazrat Muhammed (peace be upon him) said, "There is no dominancy of Arab to non-Arab and nor supremacy of colourful to non-colour persons”. It is mentioned in the holy book (Quran) God is great he has commanded over the earth and sky. God gifts to a person with a daughter if he wants, God gifts to a son if he wants or gifted with a son and daughter. Indeed, he knows and has command and competency" (Surah AL-Shura verses, no 49 to 50).

Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) was preserved concerning transgender, and they got good treatment, and honour from the holy prophet (PBUH) (Punjab social protection authority 2018). There is no discrimination against humans in Islam, holly prophet says that a person is not superior on behalf of their caste, colour, race, health, and wealth. The supremacy is allocated by the character and behaviour of humans, all kinds of human beings like men, women, and transgender should be cured as respective persons.




Transgender in Social Perspective

In the rest of the country's cultures, the Hijras are not considered male or female and they are not accepted as a different type of social adjustment (Tanveer Abbas & Dr: Yasir Nawaz 2014). Transgenders are living an isolated life in our society which is consistent with clubs, and Murhees (particular places of transgender like prostitution). There are three main working groups of transgenders. Beggary, Dancing, and Sexual Practice (Elena De Piccoli 2018).

Beggary: They begged at public places, hotels, main roads, stations, public parks, and some other sizable seats.

Dancing: They are performing their dance skills at marriage ceremonies, festivals, carnivals, stage dramas, a few social activities, and nightclubs as well.

Sexual practice: Once Transgender has explicitly analyzed the irregularities and Abnormalities, especially in their body, then he/she wants to join a company with their specific societies. Slowly and gradually he or she going to habitual homosexual practices. They enjoyed sexual exercise only for saving money, and also for entertainment.

Transgender in an Economic Perspective

The employment and sum predetermination of transgenders is very different in various places in Pakistan. In Punjab (the province of Pakistan) all the earnings are divided into three parts one is guru (the older personality of the Hijra community) second is house expenses and the third is chellas. In Sindh (the province of Pakistan) somewhere the guru gets a 75% share of the total money and the remaining 25% is divided among all the members of the house, and house expenses are an equal part of all chellas (Saira Tufail 2020). The transgender left their homes without any asses, and most of them handed over their total earned money to the guru, and then the guru received 50% shared himself, and the remaining 50% share is divided among all members, these are the survivors of their life. Most of them are homeless and reside in ghettos of rental homes. The guru is played the role of a head, or guardian like a father.




Transgender in an Educational Perspective

Transgender had a decent advantage in doing a good job in all the developed countries, and they are well educated as compared to under-developing countries (Russell S Martins 2020). In Pakistan, the conditions of transgenders are very different: they have a low literacy rate and no employment opportunities. Most of them are dropouts from school which becomes the reason behind the criticism and ignoring of their fellows, their teachers, and their parents (Satish Chandra 2017). There is no obvious Government policy, nor reserved seats for transgender in government or non-government organizations in Pakistan. However, transgender people are associated with primary and secondary school certificates. They could not get due respect and good behaviour to society, even if they have unutilized good job skills as well. The government did not take attention to the living life and the benefits of transgenders, even though the Pakistan government has a lot of budgets regarding the development of human resources.

Review of Literature

Before discussing the terminology of transgender and its concept, the terms gender and sex should be inspected. There are two different terms 1st is gender and 2nd is sex, both are commonly used to examine and identify the personality of humans and their characteristics, behaviours, living style, way of working, and identification of male and female (student affairs).




Gender

The definition of gender is very difficult to determine and not easy to analyze, but it depends on cultural traditions and customs, and people are culturally measured by their characteristics and behaviours. Finally, society described a person as gender-based on traditional myths, thoughts, and ideas, Approximately people who do not match gender identity and their sex chromosomes with male or female which are assigned by nature, this type of people may call themselves a third gender or transgender (Tim Newman 2018). The term gender is also complicated, and it is socially constructed from cultural heritage across the world (Student Affairs). It has been examined that Gender refers to a mixture of expectations, characteristics, and roles, frequently associated with the organic sex mostly in positions of a variety between feminine and masculine, for instance, gender presented their occupational and social choices and roles, appearances with the behaviours, wearing clothes, and living of life spread depending on the culture and their period.

Gender identity is like a self-picture that has its gender image as male and female or third uniqueness (Student Affairs). The people know to gender Character is consistent with the biological scenes and they had faith that a masculine will identify with their male character and a feminine will identify with their female character but this is not reliable to measure to all because there are many examples in every field of life, that people were born as masculine, and they strongly feel as female, and born as a feminine they also strongly feel as male, others were not considered to be as a male gender or female gender they were considered as the third gender.




Sex

There are physiological and anatomical differences between the masculine and feminine sexes. Sex manages its relationship with organic changes. It is a common example that the type and level of hormones which are present in male and female bodies are very different, similarly, external and internal genitalia is also dissimilar in both male and female. Hereditary factors describe the sexual attitude of individuals. A male has 46 chromosomes with two different types Y and X, while a female also has 46 chromosomes with two same types XX. Y chromosomes carry the dominant process of indication for the embryo to the beginning growth of the testis. Progesterone, testosterone, and oestrogen are already existing in males and females. But progesterone and oestrogen are highly existent in females, and male is invisible in an extreme position of testosterone (Tim Newman 2018). The male or female split is mostly seen as dual, but this is not a completely factual figure. Some cases are also seen in the world that some women are born with Y chromosomes and some men are congenital with two or three X chromosomes. Some cases are seen here within a child that they are born with a mix of male and female genitalia are called intersex and it is dependent on their own, or their parents' decisions to assign any gender of mixed genitalia. About 1 in 1500 births are seen around the world (Tim Newman 2018).




Trans/third Gender

The people who deny gender customs exist in every nation throughout the world. But the term transgender is established in a new shape nearly in the 1990s (Student Affairs). But still, transgenders are not equally treated as compared to the common population. It is useful to think about the word transgender as a sunshade that incorporates the number of people who lived under large portions of their articulating, the natural sense of gender, other than their sex Including crossdressers, transsexuals, and those people who could not identify with their sex and feel that their biological sex is not able to reflect their factual gender identity, they are called cisgenders. It has been reported that many transgender people were found or born in the wrong and incorrect body. Due to this reason, transgender people choose surgical operations to take a physical feature of their desired sex, all of these sometimes is called postoperative transsexual (Student Affairs). Some people do not want to change their status and want to be stood in the same position and they are well-known as non-operative, and pre-operative as well, they used their hormones to promote their secondary sex characteristics like facial hairs and breast tissues. The transitioning word is mostly used to define the moving time of those who changed their assigned sex. The word physical transitioning might be defined as hormonal, surgical, or other changes to one's body, and social transitioning might be described as legally changing one's name and chosen pronoun instead of a noun, and other social kinds of acts they share their harmonies among the group of lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender peoples (LGBT) (Student affairs).

However, transgender who have not clear their identity and are apposite from the male and the female genders, all are called transgender or third gender persons ( Saddique Kamran K, amp, and Mirbehar Sindhu S 2017). It is a common myth in South Asian people that transgender are God-gifted and they have the power to fetch something from almighty Allah because transgender has no advantage of offspring or other benefits as compared to other genders (Dr Humaira Jami & amp; Dr Anila Kamal 2017).




Hypotheses

1. Transgenders are suffering numerous complications in Pakistan.

2. Transgenders are denied due respect, especially in Pakistani society.

3. The state does not provide basic rights to transgenders.




Research Questions

1. What are the socio-economic conditions of transgender in Pakistan?

2. What are the causes of beggary, dancing, and sexual practices instead of good jobs and businesses for transgenders?

3. Which problems are faced by transgender in our society?




Aims and Objectives of the Study

The main objectives of this research are

1. To highlight the factors related to transgender, especially in their social life, unemployment, economic conditions, and education.

2. To highlight the not resolved issues by the state.

3. To uplift the living standards, living style, and learning attitude of transgenders.

4. To create awareness about the educational development, and economic and social life of a transgender.




Importance of Study

This research article will stab to elucidate the problems which are unsympathetically faced by transgender people. This article would also be a harbour of decent input to the social, economic, and educational circle of the transgender and created a fresh path for new researchers.

Research Methodology

This research paper is designed on a qualitative research method, this pattern provides a huge data collection opportunity to researchers. It is entitled sociological research due to this method the researcher makes the strategy about the meaningful questions and their answers as well.




Data Collection

The current qualitative research study is carrying the chance to use the resources of written materials like books, and research articles, and conducting the interviews.




Trustworthiness

In the initial stage, transgenders were not agreeing to give an interview, not agreed to come in cameras, no agreed to decide on any kind of recording, because they were not willing to show their names and also were looking so confused, when it was insuring them that, the names of all participants will be secreted than they agreed to attend the meeting with the scholar.




Acts, Bills, and Laws

In the year after 1870, the British government passed ethics, criminal tribe, and dramatic acts to control various activities of transgender and claimed that the Indian laws are unproductive, unethical and threats to society, and while realizing that fact the securities were granted in the period of Muslim rulers in the subcontinent (Tanveer Abbas 2014).

Two Neighbouring countries such as India and Bangladesh made their policies and laws for gender issues, even though they followed the numbers of Pakistani bills. Under the reflections of these bills, transgender got the same traditional and social respect in both countries.

It was assumed that the third gender was born only for the causes of traditional castration procedure and as an intersex difference. The assumptions were continuing explanations of transgender identities in some policies and laws in both countries (UNDP&APTN 2017). If we use an example from Pakistani terminology in light of the supreme court decision in 2009. A person or child not concerned with name and fame, appearance, and language known as a eunuch or not well defined by his/her sex in the time of birth is called Khuwaja Sarai (UNDP& APTN 2017). Sometimes known as “hijra” in South Asia, the right of National identity was accepted as third sex after the decision the Government of Pakistan issued its first passport with a transgender category.

Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018

The National Assembly of Pakistan and the Senate of Pakistan passed a bill in 2018 for the protection of Transgender people in Welfare, rehabilitation, Education, Social, economic, and every field of life including physical, sexual, mental, and psychological harassment.

The definition of transgender is certainly different in Pakistan and India. Transgender people are defined in the Protection of Rights Bill: that people who could not define between the intersex version and gender identity called transgender individuality. The full definition of the proposed bill is as under

1. Transgender means a person who does not match to perfect image of either a male or female

2. A mixture of both male and female or overlapped.

3. Neither male nor female, particularly.

And those gender identities do not see with the gender assigned to those people at the period of birth including Trans-male and Trans-female persons with sexual variation and genderqueers. The clarification is the urgent need for these definitions based on people’s rights to self-satisfaction of mind, these bills were criticized by human rights and civil society in India and Pakistan.

Discussion and Findings

This study is depending on the analysis of the socio-economic conditions of transgender in Pakistan. The focus of this research is the lifestyle of transgenders and their sociological status, whoever the social status of transgenders was experiential in mendicancy bopping and unethical activities and faced so many problems with their parents and society.

Most of them are uneducated or low-educated and unskilled personnel because of the immoral practices that are a reason for their survival. It is observed that most of them have migrated to the capital/big cities and live jointly in rented houses and have no shelter from their parents and elders.

Conclusion

Transgender is a very large term that defines those people who are connected with the identification of sexual characteristics and diverse from the frequently associated with sex at the period of their commencement. It was observed during the interviews that transgender mostly lived partially or full-time with people of the opposite sex. If transgender a female wants to live like a male, if a transgender is male, he wants to live like a female.

In the rest of the societies, transgender people are known as gay, heterosexual, bisexual, lesbian, and some other sexual angles. Had heavy experience with injustice, misbehaving, mistreatment, preconception, dread, disgrace, dishonour, and discredit. They exist in most countries of the world, but their living standard is very different from Pakistani transgenders.

It is concluded that the transgender community is facing numerous problems in Pakistan, but this research is associated with four main components religious, social, economic, and educational problems that are directly concerned with their lives. Developed countries provide all facilities to transgender like good jobs and businesses etc. as compared to underdeveloped countries.

There was a time when preaching was a common practice of transgenders, they played a positive role in society and got financial help from unoriented areas divided by their guru (the older and respected person of a transgender who tackled and solved the problems) and paid a DUA (prays) doing approachable acts to play with the Almighty Allah that the transgenders are also the resources of people to accept the prays to God.

During conducting the interviews, it is also observed that they have boyfriends and have a lot of love, have sexual attachments with them, and want to be sacrificed and dedicated their whole life, they are bound to obey the orders of their lovers and spent a lot of money on his own luxurious and also, the expensive of his wife and children.

During the conducting of another interview, it was observed that the young and handsome boys (gays and dancers) are also doing sexual practices like the transgender due to causes of easy earning, and they cleaned their faces even, with a black, white, and grey beard and make up, for able to be seen most handsome. and they are doing the same practices even if they are 50-plus years old. Somewhere they earned a lot of money as compared to real transgenders

The station house officers of Police (SHOs) of the particular areas cooperate with them and they have some share from the earning money of said gays.

Recommendations

1. Government should provide free education for transgenders from primary to PhD level.

2. The job quota should be provided at federal and provincial government institutions and organizations.

3. The family members of transgenders should play a vital role with their transgender children.

4. Society should own transgenders like a common person.

5. Parents make sure to give their share of properties and wealth.

6. Transgenders should try to stay away from unethical activities and make sure their decent entry for getting a good opportunity to maintain their social status and economic conditions.

7. Government should launch an obvious policy for the betterment of transgender.

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