A Theoretical Analysis of the Legal Status of Transgender: Bangladesh Perspective

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue III, March 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186

A Theoretical Analysis of the Legal Status of Transgender: Bangladesh Perspective

Sunjida Islam

Lecturer, Department of Law, Rajshahi Science & Technology University, Natore, Rajshahi, Bangladesh

Abstract: In Bangladesh, the number of transgendered peoples are increasing day by day. These transgendered peoples are commonly known as ‘Hijra’ in the society. They are normally looked down because they are not treated as normal human beings in the society. They are brutally neglected by the society and the government as they don’t have the approved gender identity. This hijra group of people are received recognition from the government of Bangladesh as ‘Third gender’. But the government has not yet enacted any laws for the benefits of hijras to ensure their legal rights, sociological rights and political rights also. Recently many countries of the world have enacted some specific laws regarding the status of transgender community to protect their legal, social and political rights. In some Asian, South Asian and European countries the transgendered group are also acknowledged as the third gender group. Now-a-days most of the transgendered people of the world including Bangladesh are living critically and miserably because of their unsettled rights. They are also living in fair and detachment due to different types of superstitions and frustrations. This article has an assertion and provided some recommendations which may help to enact a separate law for hijras to protect their different rights like social, legal, political and others. This paper may also assist to bring some changes of the status of hisra community.

Key words: Transgender, human being, Hijra, legal, Political.

I. INTRODUCTION

Though the hijras are defamed, censured and cruelly ignored community in Bangladesh but they are also a segment of our society. The Constitution of Bangladesh has guaranteed some fundamental rights available for all the persons, in this sense the transgender have also the equal rights to everything. The Bangladeshi society is being stigmatized due to the discrimination of the rights and status of hijras. Most of the hijras are faced several problems like sexual harassment, unlawful penalties, mental abuse and health problem also. The word hijra is used as a unique term to identify individuals who presume themselves as a geminate gender and play some abnormal roles sociologically and culturally.1Bangladesh Constitution provides that the rights of any citizens shall not be discriminated by the state due to race, caste, religion, sex etc.2 That’s why recently the government of Bangladesh has taken a landmark decision to provide national identity card to hijras to identify them as either male or female. Besides the government, NGOs and other private organizations take various forms of initiatives for the benefits of the hijra community.

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