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In the culture of South Asia, a hijra (Hindi ??????, Urdu ???? Bengali ?????), is usually considered a member of "the third gender"—neither man nor woman. The word has its origin in Arabic, meaning "migration". Most are physically male or intersex, but some are physically female. Hijras usually refer to themselves linguistically as female and usually dress as women. Although they were traditionally referred to in English as eunuchs, relatively few have any genital modifications.[1] The Urdu and Hindi word hijra may alternately be romanised as hijira, hijda, hijada, hijara, hijrah and is pronounced ['h?d??a?]. An older name for hijras is kinnar, which is used by some hijra groups as a more respectable and formal term. Another such term is khasuaa (????) or khusaraa (?????). In Bangla hijra is called ?????, hijra, hijla, hijre, hizra, or hizre. A number of terms across the culturally and linguistically diverse Indian subcontinent represent similar sex or gender categories. While these are rough synonyms, they may be better understood as separate identities due to regional cultural differences. In Tamil Nadu the equivalent term is Thiru nangai (daughter of god), aravanni, aravani, or aruvani. In Punjabi, both in Pakistan and India, the term khusra is used. Other terms include jankha. In Gujarati they are called pavaiyaa (??????). In Urdu the most common term is khwaaja sira (????? ???).
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Hijra (south Asia) Subcategories
Hijra (south Asia) Articles
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