Struggling life of a Jamalpur eunuch

Although they reside within the boundaries of society, they seem to be social outcasts given their identities as the third gender, Hijra, according to the president of Shiri Shomaj Kolyan Shangstha, Arifa Yeasmin Moyuri.

Shunned and ignored, most of them are living under a blanket of their own kind, as the common people do not pay attention to their needs or rights.

Born in June 1989 in the district’s Dapunia village, Moyuri was born to late Abdur Razzak and Fatema Khatun.

They had no idea about how things would turn out for Moyuri, who was born as a boy, Alif.

Alif first started to show signs of a budding eunuch when he was six-year old, when his parents had taken him out for Eid shopping and he forcibly chose a girl’s frock over boy’s clothing.

Bowing down to his stubborn decision, they brought him that frock, which would prove to be a turning point in young Alif’s life.

Ever since then, he started experiencing fascination for acting like a girl, as his friends and neighbours had mercilessly teased him for dressing up like a girl.

Undaunted, he started to yearn towards eunuch groups in the city, drifting off to them whenever he used to get an opportunity.

He was grounded for a long period of time so that he could not come under their influence, but he ran away from home when he was 12, finally cutting his ties with his family, and off to the hijra community.

Once he transformed into Moyuri, what she did not anticipate was the daily routine of mockery, ignorance, ostracizing and not to mention sexual discrimination at the hands of unruly members of society.

Relentless in her pursuit of acceptance from society, she strived to complete her primary and secondary education, eventually earning a diploma in electric trade from Mymensingh Polytechnic Institute.

Despite passing with good marks, she was deemed ineligible for attending a viva interview for a position at Power Development Board just because she was a eunuch.

Similar outcome awaited her for a recruitment test at Mymensingh Judge Court.

Moyuri believed that a person can be enriched not only professionally, but also culturally, which is why she enrolled at the local Bohubrihi organisation for dance lessons and became a skilled dancer.

She was recruited at a local NGO organisation, Bondhu, as a dance teacher, but undue advances of supervisor towards her ultimately forced her to leave the institution.

This societal ignorance taught her to become self-sufficient in order to succeed in life, and so she formed Shiri Shomaj Kolyan Shangstha at Jamalpur’s Mukundabari, where over 50 eunuchs are now members, with 20 of them actively involved in the handicraft trade.

She always showcases their products in fairs, including various trade fairs to boost their confidence, resulting in successful registration with the department of women affairs, as well as the department of social welfare. Various NGOs support their cause as well.

Trying her hand at being socially responsible, her organisation distributed relief aid materials to those affected by the flash floods last year, as well as placing floral wreaths during various occasions, such as National Independence Day, National Mourning Day and such.

Her dedication to her community has earned her the Dhaka divisional Joyeeta awards, as well as trips to India and Thailand for knowledge-building workshops on how to improve the eunuch community’s lives.

Moyuri has not looked back since. She is now focusing on bringing a large number of Hijras engaged in begging and extortion and making them self-sufficient.

She feels good when members of the society, including the administration and media, promote their plight and show them in good light, if not misunderstood.

She hopes such endeavours will continue further in future.

Source: unb