**2.1 Contemporary discrimination of Khawaja Sara and Hijra's and their resilience as decolonial strategies in Peshawar**

Discrimination and oppression are the similar concepts that go hand on hand within the living life of transgenders or Khawaja Sara and Hijras. These are not the new concepts but thoroughly discussed in the literature by researchers, academicians, and development practitioners. In this subsection, I discuss the contemporary ways of discrimination that the Khawaja Sara and Hijra's face in their early age and their daily routine life and then describe the support that participants get from gurus in their gurucheela houses as their survival strategy where they show their resilience and resistance to the colonialist and Islamised policies in Peshawar. I argue that Pushtun culture is largely based on heteronormative and patriarchal principles which bring problems like discrimination, criminalization, homelessness, and poverty for transgender or Khawaja Sara and Hijras. This culture is largely inspired from different colonial policies and Islamised practices that makes the living life difficult for people with diverse gender and sexual identities. Therefore, this sub-section describes the different stories of violence, marginalisation, and oppression that participants have faced in their daily routine life. Discussing the contemporary discrimination of Khawaja Sara and Hijra will give the reader an idea that how these communities are under effect for so long.

During the in-depth interviews, Nargas, a guru in her thirties replied that,

*Yes! I faced a lot of discrimination in my life. It started when I was very young. I never know the term Khawaja Sara and Hijra and never know the meaning of it, but I came to know about them from my family. My family never appreciated my behaviour and always came hard on me with their harsh attitude and negative response which was unbearable for me at my younger age. My family used to call me Hijra because the term is used when people laugh at us or hate us on our behaviour. I did not get proper schooling and I left my studies at my very early grades. Teachers and my friends used to pass comments on me inside the school classroom and outside (Nargas IDI).*

Nargas's discussion is important at this point of time because she explains the relationship of discrimination that are entranced in transgender identities in Pakistan. She describes that in the early days of transgender person the terms like Hijras and Khawaja Sara are new for them because individuals with transgender characteristics do not know the exact meaning and definition of these terms. But as participants growing up in their families, they then know that these terms are the labels of structural discrimination set forth by the cisgender people against them in the societies. Therefore, the term Hijra becomes an attribute of a person who is effeminate, whimsical, girlish, and sometime sexually passive [33]. Similarly, Jami, [34] writes the physicality of a Hijra person. Her writing explains that Khawaja Sara and Hijras are not only physically

*Decolonization of Gender and Sexuality: Exploring the Stories of Discrimination… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108684*

discriminated and oppressed but they are described with extreme writing in literature. The following quote is taken in original from Jamis [34] writings and to show the level of presentation of this community in the literature.

*Large and ugly looking person, with big hands and feet, wearing high tone colours and makeup (beard is noticeable), emphasis on certain body parts (breasts, hips etc.), exaggerated movements and non-verbal gestures including clapping, cracking obscene jokes, vulgar in talk and gestures etc (2005, p.4).*

The studies of Aurat Foundation [35] and Alizai et al. [36] explain the discrimination of Hijra communities in Pakistan that deny them basic human rights. Similarly, the studies of [33, 37, 38] describe that discrimination of hijra's is a general practice and is deeply rooted in Pakistan. Jami [34] further writes that hijra's in Pakistan are discriminated against and they are denied from getting quality education, health services, and availing employment opportunities.

Similarly, when Raveena a senior guru was asked regarding the discrimination and oppression,

*Yes, I experienced a lot of discrimination from my father and brother when I was young for being a Khawaja Sara or Hijra. My father did not enrol me in high school like my other brothers. He warned me repeatedly that if you behave like this you will not go outside because if other people see you, then they will laugh at us, and we will lose our honour and respect in our community. I left home when I realised they my family will never accept me in my trans identity. Leaving home was my coping strategy, because I thought that this will be a right decision for me and for my survival in the society. Therefore, I left home and joined the guru cheela houses (Raveena, IDI).*

Raveena is of the view that discrimination is lifelong. She describes that we all perform gender diverse roles that is based on our gender and identity. These gender diverse roles are usually considered as stigma and shame for the families of transgender people that subject them to regular social discrimination and Isolation [39]. Young Khawaja Sara and Hijra's leave their homes because of the rigid behaviour that they face from their family members. Here, Raveena considers leaving home as a coping or survival strategy in Peshawar. Because many of Khawaja Sara and Hijra's have find their personal validation and also an opportunity to assimilate in the Hijra identity and become a member of the Khawaja Sara and Hijra community [39]. Therefore, in order to survive against the familial discrimination and show their resilience, participants find their identities as they understand when they join the guru-cheela houses.

Shanza, a cheela in her twenties replied that,

*Yes, my life is full of discrimination, and I have a lot of stories of my discrimination to tell. "Mong ho che pa ha bad poha sho no da kor na ra sara discrimination start she" (Direct Pashto Quote) We are not fully matured yet, and our family members start discriminating us. (English translation). This discrimination is not only limited to family but when I was in my school age, my friends used to call me Reema (A film actress in Pakistan) in school. I think they were using this name as an abuse and to discriminate me that I am not like them, or they are not like me.*

Shanza discussion further express the process of discrimination in the life of transgender person. Awan [39] writes that discrimination is so deeply rooted in the living life of Khawaja Sara and Hijra that many of the members try to avoid visiting public places like markets, banks, hospital and even mosque, which is a place of worship, because participants feel that they may be physically harmed and mentally abused. Shanza also discusses that in her early school days, other fellows in the class used to discriminate her by calling with bad names. The participant further discusses her helplessness for her frequent marginalisation that she faced both in the family and so as in the school. Therefore, in response to this discrimination, Shanza questions herself because this produced lots of stress and tension for her and as a result she discontinued her educational pursuit.

All the above stories of participants describe the power and male dominant culture in *Pashtun* families and so as in the societies in Peshawar city. This explains that how Khawaja Sara and Hijra's are discriminated and denied from their rights in their earlier part of life now and then from colonial time in subcontinent. During the course of this study more than 10 Khawaja Sara and Hijras in Peshawar were physically abused and brutally killed by their intimate partners or by their family members. This describes that because of patriarchal environment, and cisheteronormative culture, many of the participants get little support to address or to speak against the violence and marginalisation they experience. Participant's responses show that family members were not willing to accept them, therefore they dropped out from schools either by themselves or by their family members. They also faced ridicule and humiliation from their parents and other members of their families. Awan (2018) discussed in his PhD thesis on Hijra in Punjab and the data that I have collected in this project in Khyber Pukhtunkhawa, explains that all Khawaja Sara and Hijra's face different kinds of discrimination in their early childhood that include their maltreatment in families, humiliating behaviour in the communities where they live, and the abusive attitude and harassment in their educational institutions from teachers when they were in their primary grades.

The streams of discrimination in the lives of Khawaja Sara and Hijras do not end in youth but continue in later parts of life and therefore affect them in their professional workplaces. This was evident in the story of Alishba who discussed in the following way,

*I experienced a lot of discrimination for being a Khawaja Sara, but this was not limited to my earlier part of life. When I did my master's in economics and got a job in a reputable company, I came to know that the senior management had a bad eye on me. One day my manager insisted for sex that I refused. My refusal made me fired from my job. This is how a cis-gender men treat or behave with us and discriminate us (Alishba IDI).*

Similarly, Nayela a guru talks about discrimination in their daily life when they go out for shopping to the local market,

*Discrimination of Khawaja Sara and Hijra is a routine day happening. Therefore, we most often try to pass our time inside our houses or rooms. But, if by chance we ever visit a market for shopping or buying groceries. The general community that includes pedestrians, shopkeepers, drivers, conductors etc try to harass us by calling us different names and putting obscene words on our identity (Nayela, IDI).*

Mehbooba shared her story of discrimination once she went with her sister for medical treatment to a local hospital in Peshawar city,

*Decolonization of Gender and Sexuality: Exploring the Stories of Discrimination… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108684*

*We experience a lot of discrimination in our life for being a Khawaja Sara or Hijra. As I said earlier, we do not receive proper health facilities in hospitals. Once I went to hospital with my sister and the staff there was not serious to provide us proper medical service. They were looking for us, surprisingly. We thought that might be we are not human or like aliens. After an hour of running around in the hospital from one ward to another, I threatened the doctors that if they did not provide us the proper services, then I will make their video and will put it on social media pages (Mehbooba, IDI).*

Participants quotes explain the different dimensions of discrimination that they face in their daily lives and routines. The data shows that discrimination is a lifelong process for the participants. It starts from their early childhood within their parental families. Participants discussed in the earlier chapters that they leave their parental houses because of the negative behaviour and the discrimination that the faced in their life. It means that participants leave their houses with the hope that they will be free from any discrimination when they join the guru-cheela houses. This was very disappointing for Nayela as she discussed that people in the wider communities consider them a symbol of fun because when they see any Khawaja Sara or Hijra individual in the market or any public place, they start laughing at them and even tease them with bad names and sensual gestures like "pa so ba oky ma sara, so darkam che oko (Pashto Quote) how much you will take for one time sex (English translation). So, this demonstrates that not only the Khawaja Sara and Hijra's are responsible for sex working but they are also compelled by many cisgenders' heterosexual men towards sex work.

Nayela further added that people around us always try to degrade them for our gender and sexual identities. This was also discussed by Alishba as she was an educated member of the community and having a good job in a reputable company, but still she was discriminated and abused many times like the other member of Khawaja Sara and Hijra communities. Alishba shared her story that her senior in the office asked for sex many times because I was helpless and looks like women/girl, and when she refused the demands of senior, she was fired from her position. Lastly, Mehbooba shared her story of the discriminative attitude of service providers when she and her friend was in the need of emergency relief services in the local hospital in Peshawar. They booth were ignored and even ridiculed by the concerned staff in the hospital and no emergency support were provided well on time. Considering the different stories, I assume that discrimination, oppression, and physical abuse is an inclusive practice against the members of Khawaja Sara and Hijra communities in Peshawar city. These inclusive practices are because of the deep-rooted Islamised teachings and patriarchal culture. This was also found in the study of [40] because they described that sexual minorities are largely discriminated because of religious ideologies. Similarly, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are facing a negative attitude of people globally and they are considered sinful people in the context of religious fundamentalism [41, 42].

Therefore, I demonstrate that colonial laws and Islamic ideologies are so entrenched in the local socio- cultural practices in Peshawar that do not allow Khawaja Sara and Hijra to perform their identities in a way as they understand and therefore, this is the reason that they all are frequently discriminated by their parents, family members, and other different groups in their wider communities. The data discussed above explains the same situation because all participants in the study have faced discrimination from their family members and others around them because

they believe that Khawaja Sara and Hijra's are committing crime that is not allowed by law and performing sin because their performance are not prohibited in Islamic teachings. These discriminatory practices are the series of colonial regulations and the Islamisation almost decades ago but still they are facing the brunt of it even in contemporary periods.

When members of Khawaja Sara and Hijra are forced to leave their parental houses, they then join the guru-cheela communities. Awan [39] declares this an entry for Hijra into a new world where they utilise their modes of resilience and resistance against the hegemonic policies and negative mind set. This is very important phase for Khawaja Sara and Hijra's because joining the guru-cheela houses is like a rebirth for participants, because they get new name, and they get a new form of life. They get chances and choices to easily perform their gender and sexuality without any restrictions, and they are also fully supported and well protected by their guru's and other members of their communities. I demonstrate that guru-cheela partnership of Khawaja Sara and Hijra's is a mean to decolonize gender, because with the support of these partnerships/relationships they can easily perform their gender in a way as they understand. Additionally, the migration of participants to change their place and relocate themselves when they find themselves in trouble or in risky situation gives them support to stand firmly against all forms of discrimination when they are in their guru-cheela relationship.

The following responses from participants describe that when participants leave their families, they immediately join the guru-cheela houses in Peshawar city, which is not only welcoming to them but also give them full support. This was discussed by Azeema,

*When I left my family house, I came to the guru-cheela houses with the help of my friend. I was very worried at that time, as I had no money and no house to live. I am thankful to my guru because she extended her every possible help in my support. I survived till this point of time with the help of my guru. "Za ho deer pareeshana oma kala che ma koor pre hodoo. Ma v oss ba sa k (Direct Pashto Quote) I was very worried when I left my home. I thought what I will do now (English translation) (Azeema, IDI).*

Mehbooba shared that there are two different circumstances in the life of a Khawaja Sara and Hijra. One is their family life, and the other is their life inside the guru-cheela house. These two circumstances are opposite in nature.

*We have two different situations in our life. On one side, we are totally ignored by our family members. They do not support us and even they do not accept us on our death. But on the other side we are fully supported in our guru-cheela houses. We immediately reach to the location when we are informed that any member from our communities is in trouble and needs our help. I am thankful to my guru because she supported me a lot in my life. I have no contact with my family member since I joined this community, but my guru is the only person who is everything for me (Mehbooba, IDI).*

Similarly, Chutti a novice cheela has responded that she has got love and affection from her guru, like her own mother,

*My guru treats me like her daughter, and I consider her my mother. In this picture-4 I am standing with my Guru. The picture depicts that I am like her daughter, and she is*  *Decolonization of Gender and Sexuality: Exploring the Stories of Discrimination… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108684*

*like my real mother. My guru always supports with me when I am in trouble. "Che kala yao sari koor predee awo yawazi she no biya hagha ta support zarorat v" (Direct Pashto Quote) Whenever individuals like us leave their families, then they need a support which we get from our guru-cheela relationship (English Translation) (Chutti, PVI).*

The above different narratives points to the different ways in which a newly entered Khawaja Sara and Hijra into guru-cheela houses, are supported and protected by her guru in Peshawar city. Individuals with trans characteristics have two set of families i.e., family of origin as her biological family and family of his choice as her logical family. Graham et al. [43] discuss that family of choice is very important for transgender people because it provides them emotional, physiological, physical, and material support. Therefore, family of choice becomes important because of its support while biological families remain detrimental for many transgender individuals [44]. This was also found out in the data that many biological families of participants do not keep their contacts with their children, but the data shows that they (families) are happy when their children leave them for ever. At the start, majority of Khawaja Sara and Hijra's become isolated, and they feel alone but when they join their gurucheela houses. Then their gurus take the responsibility of their cheelas by providing them food, shelter, water, and decision of their earnings. Therefore, doing favours in shape of taking responsibility and providing means of earnings the newly entered members feel protected and they also get a chance to live with ease. In addition, gurucheela communities also provide opportunities to both guru's and cheela's to advocate for their rights and also enable them a to speak against all the ongoing negative social and societal practices against them in contemporary Pakistan.

In western scholarship the relationship of transgender people to community is recognised within by term "family of choice". Wilson [45] describes that families developed on the basis of choice, are very enticing for transgender people than their biological families. These queer families have strong kinship bonds and, in this way, individuals who are bonded by choice support one another. The study of Galupo et al. [46] describes that chosen families share a common interest of belonging, comfort, and they have the knowledge of their issues, therefore, they all extend their support from shared resources. This was also common in the guru-cheela relationship of Khawaja Sara and Hijra's families in Peshawar city, where Khawaja Sara and Hijra's that they along with their gurus' and other members always support their friends who were in need of help. Thus, queer families in the west and guru-cheela houses in the non-western culture have much value and a huge importance in the lives of people with trans characteristics, because their families (choice) provide them support, security, and protection where their biological families fail to do so.

#### **2.2 Social activism and enactment policy of Khawaja Sara and Hijra's in Pakistan**

This section discusses the social activism and the enactment policy that are formulated for Khawaja Sara and Hijras in contemporary Pakistan. It un-packs the struggle of Khwaja Sara and Hijras and the support of their key allies' that they are doing for their empowerment and in this way, the "Transgender welfare and empowerment Act 2018 is one of the milestones achieved. This milestone is made possible because of the long-standing social activism and the struggle done by Khawaja Sara and Hijras and their key allies in contemporary Pakistan. In this section, I am using postcolonial insights of Gayatri Spivak "Can the subaltern speaks" to further explain the triplet marginalised and vulnerable living condition of Khawaja Sara and Hijras that make

them more precarious individuals that the other cisgender women. Furthermore, I explain the different ways where Khawaja Sara and Hijras are using different means like advocacy platforms, press conferences and television talk shows to get their voice in contemporary Pakistan.

Spivak [47] in her postcolonial insights has discussed the status of women during British colonialism. Spivak considered that subalterns are those individuals who have no accessibility or reachability to the hegemonic power. They are not only oppressed but are also unable to be powerful and remain subalterns throughout their lives. Spivak uses the term subaltern for rural woman and asserts that the subaltern as a woman in the Indian society becomes the victim of double oppression. On the one hand, poor women experience class-based subalternity and on the other hand, they are faced with gendered subalternity. The term subaltern has become synonymous with marginalised and disempowered minority groups in postcolonial theory with a specific focus on gender and ethnicity ([48], p. 354).

Spivak argues:

*Let us move to consider the margins (one can just say the silent, silenced center) of the circuit marked out by this epistemic violence, men and women along the illiterate peasantry, the tribals, the lower strata of the urban proletariat. (*[47]*, p. 78).*

*The … phased development of subaltern is complicated by the imperialist project - is confronted by a collective of intellectuals who be called the 'Subaltern Studies' group. They must ask, Can the subaltern Speak? .... Their project is to rethink Indian colonial historiography from the perspective of the discontinuous chain of peasant insurgencies during the colonial occupation. (*[47]*, pp. 78–79).*

Subalterns in Spivak thinking are those individuals who belong to third world countries, and they are divided by gender, class, caste, regions, religions, and other narratives. All these individuals are unable to speak for themselves and in this way, they fail to stand in unity and lack representation and presentation of their identities. In this section, I describe the vulnerable positionalities of Khawaja Sara and Hijras from colonial to postcolonial periods and then in contemporary Pakistan. I discuss the systemic marginalisation and discrimination of Khawaja Sara and Hijras in a detail. Then borrowing the term subaltern from Spivak theory of "can the subaltern speaks" I demonstrate that Khawaja Sara and Hijras are the neo-subalterns in contemporary Pakistan as they have little access to their rights and their voices are neglected and, in this way, they fail to speak for themselves. Further, their contributions are not recognised, and by large they suffer from the effect of erosion from their identities in the societies. Khawaja Sara and Hijras are very open to frequent physical and psychological violence and sexual abuse, because of the strong patriarchal setup, rigid social and societal operating measures and also the transphobic behaviour in the wider communities. They have not only low accessibilities to the basic life facilities, but they are not accepted because of their different gender and sexual identities. Therefore, Khawaja Sara and Hijras become a more precarious individuals than the cisgender women in contemporary Pakistan.

Living with precarious positions the communities of Khawaja Sara and Hijras are continuously putting their efforts to empower themselves and make their voices listened. In this vein, members of Khawaja Sara and Hijras communities are working closely with different humanitarian organisations in Peshawar city. These organisations are the key allies' that provide support and also, they (organisations)

### *Decolonization of Gender and Sexuality: Exploring the Stories of Discrimination… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108684*

do advocacy for the rights of Khawaja Sara and Hijras in contemporary Pakistan. In addition, members of Khawaja Sara and Hijras have formed Trans-Action Alliance5 that a provincial organisation and is working for the wellbeing and protection of transgender and intersex community. This organisation includes membership from both the civil society organisation, Khawaja Sara and Hijra communities, Lawyer associations, and local philanthropies. Trans-Action Alliance aims to improve the gender identity and gender reassignment equality, rights, and inclusion in Peshawar Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.6 Trans-Action alliance is the first ever organised community movement of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which represent 48,000 to 55,000 transgender and intersex community from 25 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA). Following are some of the pictures that are taken from the website on the consent of Trans-Action representatives (**Figures 1**–**4**).

Similarly, members of Khawaja Sara and Hijra communities also struggled for national level legislation. In 2009, Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled in favour of Khawaja Sara and Hijra communities for the provision of right to vote, right to equal health, educational and employment opportunities (ICJ, 2009). In addition, with the directives of Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2012, Khawaja Sara and Hijras were granted computerised National Identity Card with the third gender by the National and Database Registration Authority (NADRA) [2]. In similar vein, on 7th March 2018 the Senate of Pakistan passed the "Transgender person (protection of rights) Act 2018. Under the Act, transgenders were provided authority to declare their self-perceived gender identity without being facing the medical examination board of physician (Senate, 2018). This was a landmark achievement for the members of Khawaja Sara and Hijra communities and for their allies in contemporary Pakistan. In addition, the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recently tabled a provincial bill of transgender rehabilitation and empowerment to the assembly for approval.

#### **Figure 1.**

*Members of Trans-Action meeting with Speaker of Provincial Assembly Contents.*

<sup>5</sup> https://transaction.org.pk/

<sup>6</sup> The above pictures from 1 to 4 are obtained and shared here with the consent of trans action Pakistan. These pictures are available on the trans action Pakistan website.

**Figure 2.** *Chairperson Trans-Action alliance doing press conference.*

**Figure 3.** *National level consultation organised by trans-Action Alliance.*

**Figure 4.** *Participation of Khawaja Sara and Hijras in provincial sports gala.*
