Eunuchs in India

The Untouchable soul – taboo – gender benders

In India eunuchs are known as hijras, or a "third gender," neither a he nor a she. While they were once worshiped in the Hindu world and also worked for Islamic rulers, they are now widely feared.

Eunuchs have ambiguous backgrounds. Contrary to popular belief, most are not castrated, some of them are intersexual; others are born male and fail to develop. Gay men and transsexuals also are included in their ranks.

Misfortune has long been a companion of India's eunuchs. Because the country has historically recognized only two genders, hijras have been deprived of the right to vote, own property, marry, or go to schools, according to a report written by the People's Union for Civil Liberties. Only this year, did the Indian passport office allow eunuchs to write "E" instead of male or female.

Estimates of their numbers range from 50,000 to six million, and they mostly live in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi.

Ironically, their lot is considered so bad that they turn up to places of joy, such as weddings and births, to take away everybody else's bad luck. Indians feel so uncomfortable around them; they offer large sums of money so they leave.

Even Western banks in India have called on their services to humiliate clients in default, local media reports say. They find that sending eunuchs to sing, dance and clap on doorsteps, shout out and create a noisy commotion, works incredibly well.

On the streets, Indians pay money so as not to be nudged by eunuchs' elbows, stroked on the cheek, cursed or exposed to what lies beneath their saris.