Decolonization of Gender and Sexuality: Exploring the Stories of Discrimination, Marginalisation, Resistance, and Resilience in the Communities of Khawaja Sara and Hijra in Pakistan

Abstract

This chapter draws attention on the different ways of colonisation, Islamisation and the decolonization of gender and sexuality amongst the transgender communities called Khawaja Sara and Hijra in contemporary Pakistan. The literature describes that during British colonialism the communities of Khawaja Sara and Hijra have been regulated and they were declared criminals with Criminal Tribal Act and Section-377, that produced rigorous repercussion on the living life of trans folks in colonial, postcolonial and contemporary periods. They are now and then were discriminated, oppressed, and marginalised, but this was not the case in precolonial periods where their lives were considered honourable, and they were given respectable positions in the Mughal Harems and other princely palaces. To investigate the contemporary marginalisation and then the survival practices of Khawaja Sara and Hijra as decolonial practice, this chapter engages with 10 members from Khawaja Sara and Hijra communities in a face-to-face direct interview and 04 photovoice interviews in Peshawar city. The findings highlight that Khawaja Sara and Hijra communities has the capacity to resist against the colonised and Islamised policies and to advocate for their rights and to get their voices heard across in their communities. This process is named as the decolonization of gender and sexuality in contemporary Pakistan.

1. Introduction

This chapter begins with a discussion on to describe the colonisation and then the Islamisation of gender and sexual identities in contemporary Pakistan while taking case of Khawaja Sara and Hijra communities (globally called transgender people). They are the individuals who are born male, but they consider themselves other than the identity that is given to them at their birth. Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s are amongst distinct cultural and ancient communities in South Asia, and are predominantly found in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. At first glance, it may seem that Khawaja Sara and Hijra understand themselves as females because of their gender presentations, however, they have a much more complex and nuanced understanding towards their gender and sexual identities that often moves between and beyond the gender binary. The identities of the Khawaja Sara and Hijra are further informed or challenged by social, cultural, economic, religious, and political forces that both shape the gender and sexual identities in the different ways that Khawaja Sara and Hijra understand and render their identities problematic and subject to discourses of stigma and disgrace from their families and the wider community. This process means that the identities of Khawaja Sara and Hijra are multiple, complex, and ambiguous in contemporary Pakistan.

The identities of Khawaja Sara and Hijra in contemporary Pakistan are made complex because of the ways in which they are understood historically, culturally, and socially. So, Khawaja Sara and Hijra are often subject to negative positioning from wider Pakistani society and are negatively understood by general society as hermaphrodites, neither men nor women, or a third category of gender [1, 2, 3]. These understandings isolate them both socially and culturally in the communities where they live. However, the communities of Khawaja Sara and Hijra do not identify and understand themselves in this way as this chapter attests. In this vein, the knowledge so far produced by academicians, researchers, advocacy networks and other allies’ organisations have strongly declared that Hijra and Khawaja Sara are the most discriminated and marginalised people in contemporary Pakistan, but no developed thesis has been found on the self-narratives and self-understandings of Khawaja Sara and Hijra towards their gender identity and sexual orientation in contemporary Pakistan where they could discuss the colonisation and Islamisation of their gender and sexuality and their different ways of resistance and resilience that are informing decolonization of gender and sexuality in contemporary periods.

Therefore, this chapter draws attention to the findings of a research project conducted with the transgender communities in Peshawar city using face to face direction and a novice photovoice method that generated empirical and photographical data. Peshawar city is situated in the Northern region of Pakistan that has a blend of Pashtu culture which is largely rigid and gives high value to the local norms and religious Islamic teachings. The discussion in this chapter begins with a brief summary of how the gender and sexuality has been colonised and then Islamised respectively and what are the implications faced by members of Khawaja Sara and Hijra communities in Peshawar because of coloniality and Islamisation of gender and sexuality at time of British colonialism and now in postcolonial contemporary periods.

The chapter presents the self-narratives and personal stories of marginalisation, precarity, abuses and violence that are shared and discussed by members of Khawaja Sara and Hijra communities during the data collection process. Later in the chapter, the different ways of decolonization of gender and sexuality is discussed that are performed and practiced by the participants when they are living in their guru-cheela houses and away from their family members. Although the performance and the practices they do, put them in risky and threatful situation in their life but still they are doing them actively because activities like dancing, singing and sex work are their only ways of earning and also their decolonial strategy against the colonised and Islamised policies.

This chapter is divided in to three broad sections. First section starts with a debate on the colonialization and the Islamisation of gender and sexuality using the already existing literature that is stretched from British colonialism in subcontinent to postcolonial Pakistan and then to the military regime of General Zia-ul-Haq- a military dictator in Pakistan in the year 1978–1988. The second section examines the different ways of state institutions, civil society, allies’ organisations, and the efforts of members from Khawaja Sara and Hijra communities to decolonise gender and sexuality and the way they legitimise their positionality in contemporary Pakistan. The last section of this chapter is very important because it first describes the precarious positionalities of Khawaja Sara and Hijras and then unpack the decolonialization of gender and sexuality with the description of resistance and resilience amongst the Khawaja Sara and Hijra communities in Peshawar against all forms of marginalisation, oppression, violence and hate crimes.

1.1 Colonisation and Islamisation of sexuality

Before discussing the decolonization of gender and sexuality of Khawaja Sara and Hijra, it is worth first briefly describing how gender and sexuality is colonised, misunderstood, and criminalised that made complexities in the identities of trans communities during British colonialism and then Islamised in postcolonial Pakistan that further declared them the untouchables and sinful communities [4]. My discussion in this section will seek answers of two questions: how and why colonial powers in subcontinent sought to regulate gender and sexuality? In exploring this question my focus will be to find ways that describe how colonialism was and still has an impact on the lives of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s and secondly, to unfold as how and why sexuality was considered an important subject in Hudood Ordinance 1970 in postcolonial Pakistan? My examination around this question will expose the different ways where postcolonialism has an impact on the gender and sexuality in Pakistan. This will be an essential step for two reasons because seeking answers for both the above questions will become a central premise, which will open a debate on the understanding of gender and sexuality in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the subcontinent, and then in postcolonial Pakistan. My discussion in this section will give an account of colonial discourse that legally represented Khawaja Sara and Hijra as obscene and indecent individuals. Therefore, to illustrate colonial gender and sexuality, I first specifically account Section-377, Criminal Tribal Act 1871 in colonial subcontinent and then draw my discussion to Zia’s Zina Ordinance (1979) to postcolonial Pakistan.

1.2 Section-377: An anti-same sex regulation

In this section, I discuss the historical trajectory of Section-377 that became an anti-homosexual regulation for same sex relationship in the subcontinent [5]. My discussion in this section tries to answer that how and why the Britishers as colonial rulers were keen to legislate anti-homosexual laws and to govern sexuality [6]. Chaudhry [7] writes in his LLM¹ thesis that before the Britishers arrival into the subcontinent, Indians were ruled by different kingdoms where sexuality was governed through religious texts, poetry, culture, music and therefore these precolonial societies had no uniform laws to regulate same sex relationship between men and boys. Same sex relationships were the common pattern in Mughal periods because the noblemen used to have sex with Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s and this was too considered an act of masculinity in ancient Indian societies [8, 9]. Perhaps, the concept of sexuality was more fluid during precolonial periods than now and in the colonial time.

During British colonialism, they regulated the gender and sexuality in the subcontinent, where anti-homosexual laws like section-377 were introduced in the later part of 19th Century that criminalised the same-sex behaviours in British India [10]. British empire perceived the members of Khawaja Sar and Hijra communities as cisgender men, and they were considered habitual sodomite which criminalised their relationships, and they were therefore labelled as same sex professional individuals which later categorised as homosexuals [11, 12].

1.3 Criminal Tribal Act 1871

In this section I quickly describe CTA 1871 more in detail and also highlight how and why the gender and sexuality was governed and colonised within in the domain of CTA in the British colonialism. The term “Criminal Tribe” was introduced by the Britisher during their colonialism in India. Speaking broadly, Britisher law makers included all those individuals and communities whom they want to govern and thereby they were described and declared criminals. To govern gender and sexuality in the subcontinent, Part II of the Criminal Tribal Act 1871 was developed specifically for Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s to control, regulate and register them in the communities of criminals [13]. Therefore, under the CTA (1871) Hijra’s were introduced as eunuchs who were the male persons and admitted themselves or through medical grounds as an impotent individual [14, 15]. This explains that those individuals who were involved in ‘obscene performance’ like singing, dancing in the streets, wearing female clothes, involved in kidnapping of minors and castration were liable to be registered as eunuchs [14, 16].

To control and regulate Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s and to stop them from their labelled obscene behaviour, CTA was formulated and focused on the following three main areas,

1. Surveillance

2. Medical examination

3. Registration

Under the CTA 1871 Britishers imposed penalties like imprisonment for up to 2 years with fine if any Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s was found in wearing women’s clothes and jewellery in the public places and on the streets [15]. Along with this punishment many Hijra’s and Khawaja Sara were deprived from their civil rights, and they were no longer in the position to transfer their assets and other properties to their descendants [17]. In this way, Khawaja Sara and Hijras were deprived from their choice to pass their stipends, properties, and other savings to their cheelas. This further effected these communities because majority of the Hijras and Khawaja Sara were living without their family member or another guardianship. In this way, most of the properties belonging to the Hijra were confiscated and disposed to the Government. These strict policies and malpractices not only enriched the administration’s treasures upon taking hold on the properties of Khawaja Sara and Hijras but marginalised them in their daily life that is still prevailing in the contemporary periods. With the help of these policies the Britishers governed the gender and sexuality in the subcontinent that ultimately oppressed the communities of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s who were once considered amongst the nobilities inside the Mughal Harems during the precolonial periods [18].

1.4 Hudood ordinance (1979)-An Islamised discourse

On the on onset of postcolonial period in Pakistan, many British regulations were brought forward to the newly independent country that did not stop the discrimination and oppression of gender minorities in Pakistan. With all this, General Zia-ul- Haq, a military dictator, enacted four different Ordinances in 1979 during his military takeover in Pakistan. These Ordinances were given the name of Hudood Ordinance collectively. Zia’s Hudood Ordinance was promulgated to make some significance changes in the country’s criminal law in order to develop an Islamised nation. Amongst the Ordinances, Zina² (Adultery) was declared an illegal practice and was considered a violation against the Quran and Islamic practices. Zina was further declared an illegal practice and a crime against the state. Any Person being found committing a Zina or have done it in the past was legalised of stoning to death [19].

In Quran, the punishment for Zina for un-married people is 100 lashes while for married individuals it is stoning to death [20]. As part of Islamisation, Zia’s vision was based on the imposition of Sharia Law. Therefore, in major part of Hudood Ordinance priority was given to the implementation of punishments mentioned in the holy Quran and Sunna for illegal practices like Zina, Qazf (false accusation of Zina), consumption of alcohol, and involvement in stealing or robbery.

The above discussion highlights that General Zia ul-Haq with his political Islamic vision Islamised sexuality in postcolonial Pakistan. I argue that Zia Hudood ordinance in postcolonial Pakistan has followed the Britisher’s actions against gender and sexual. Under the Hudood Ordinance 1979, strict punishments like life imprisonments and stoning were imposed that denied the rights of same sex attracted individuals in postcolonial Pakistan. Similarly, as discussed here and in chapter-3, Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s were also categorised as homosexuals because of their relationships with cis-heterosexual men in contemporary Pakistan.

The historical trajectory discussed here means that the majority of religious leaders in contemporary Pakistan oppose the gender and sexual identities of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s because of religious teachings, Islamic doctrines and the legacy of colonial rule. They further widely criticised the activities of trans communities both in their public and private sphere considering them immoral and against the teachings of Islam and also not abiding the local culture. In this way, many members of the Khawaja Sara and Hijra community remain an easy target of hate and violence in the societies where they are living.

1.5 Musharraf enlightened moderation policy (2003)- A liberal discourse

So far, in the previous sections I have discussed the Colonialization and Islamisation of gender and sexuality and its impact on the gender minorities in colonial and postcolonial periods. In this section, I will now discuss Musharraf’s Policy of Enlightened Moderation (2003) which laid the foundation of modernity, de-radicalization and decolonization of gender and sexuality in Pakistan. My main discussion in this section will be to first introduce General Pervez Musharraf as a military dictator and his differences with Zia-ul- Haq. Next, Musharraf’s idea of Enlightened Moderation will be described in detail and at the end I will explain as how and why Musharraf Enlightened Moderation was important to the decoloniality of gender and sexuality in contemporary Pakistan.

General Pervez Musharraf, the last military dictator in Pakistan, imposed a military coup in 1999 and became the President of Pakistan. He held this position for more than 10 years and from 1999 to 2008. Unlike Zia-ul-Haq, who imposed misogynist and oppressive Islamisation policies which targeted women and sexual minorities that institutionalised legal and social discrimination, Musharraf was more open and broader minded, and, in this way, he introduced his policy of enlightened moderation in 2003 that focused on modernity, secularism, and liberal credentials [21]. Enlightened Moderation was an attempt to rebuild Muslim society in Pakistan with liberal concepts and to get rid of Islamic values and denounce the Islamic traditions that have an impact both in the media and at public gatherings.

On 1st June 2004 General Musharraf explains his Idea of Enlightened Moderation with an article in Washington Post.

Enlightened Moderation is an important approach, which I think is a win for all -- for both the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds. It is a two-pronged strategy. The first part is for the Muslim world to shun militancy and extremism and adopt the path of socioeconomic uplift. The second is for the West, and the United States in particular, to seek to resolve all political disputes with justice and to aid in the socioeconomic betterment of the deprived Muslim world (Musharraf, 2004).

The above statement illustrates two different situations. One is focused on militancy and extremism in the Muslim world, and the other is a suggestion that western communities end ongoing conflicts with Muslim nations. According to Musharraf, the Muslim world needed to adopt the modern pathways and liberal ideology to defeat extremism and militancy, while the west, especially the United States, was required to provide enough funds and other aids to devise strategies with their key allies’ and to gain control on the unwanted extremism and militancy. Musharraf produced his idea of Enlightened Moderation right at the time when the war on terror and hostility between Islam and west were at their peak after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Therefore, addressing the 58th session of United Nations General Assembly in September 2003, General Pervez Musharraf, discussed the new form of threats and challenges to peace and security after 9/11 and the confrontation between the east and the west [22]. In this way, with his concept of enlightened moderation Musharraf had a vision of a progressive and modern society that not only de-radicalised the Islamised mindedness in Pakistan [23], but also in a way it became a trajectory towards decolonization.

Musharraf’s Enlightened Moderation provided many opportunities especially to women in Pakistan that empowered them both legally, socially, economically, and politically. New laws were formulated, and many discriminatory laws were repealed during Musharraf’s military regime in Pakistan [24]. Furthermore, both print and electronic media was made independent and many trans supportive performance were aired in different late night talk shows. Amongst the policy enactment for the empowerment of women, an honour killing bill was introduced that later became a criminal law in 2004. Under this bill, honour killing was declared a criminal offence and a punishable act in the court of law (Modaik, 2005). Similarly, women protection act-2006 was introduced that provided security and protection to women in the workplace. This policy was enacted against the workplace harassment of women in Pakistan [25] and lastly the Presidential Ordinance (2006) “the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance, 2006” allowed every kind of bail to women except their charges in terrorism and murder. Musharraf’s regime was considered an important period for women empowerment because it also made reforms in Hudood Ordinance of 1979. The Government appointed 3 commissions that recommended reforms in the Hudood Ordinance in 2006 [26].

At the same time, many Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s were appointed as tax collector³ in the government department [27] and many others have got their roles in different video documentaries in Pakistan. A famous LGBT documentary “Transgender; Pakistan open secret⁴” explained the real-life stories of many Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s in Pakistan and also described their lifelong problem that they were facing in their daily life. These problems were in major to discuss the socio-cultural, economic, and political life of transgender communities in Pakistan.

Musharraf’s regime was very important because it laid the foundation of a liberal Islamic state that further opened different ways for the decolonization of gender and sexuality in Pakistan. Because with secular and liberal approach, Musharraf formulated many policies and also made reforms in Hudood Ordinance that promoted gender equality and women empowerment in Pakistan. At the same time electronic media were less censored which allow different trans character tv shows, video documentaries that never happened before in Pakistan. These tv shows and video documentaries were the initial tactics by the government via a liberal discourse to moralise the identities of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s in the strict, Islamised, and patriarchal cultural environment of Pakistan.

1.6 Aurat March in contemporary Pakistan- A secular right based discourse towards decolonization of gender and sexuality

Since 2018, a new right based feminist discourse of Aurat March (Women March) is emerged with a slogan Mera Jisam Mere Marzi (My body My Choice) which has got a meteoric rise in contemporary Pakistan. This event is organised on International Women’s Day (8th March), Pakistani feminists gather in large numbers across the different cities against patriarchy and demand for women rights and gender equality. The Auat march is inspired from a global #MeToo movement [28]. The sole objective of the Aurat march is to advocate for the rights of women and ensure gender equality in Pakistan, but many of the clergies argue against the ‘new’ feminist moment and view it as the imposition of western debauchery in Pakistan. In this context not much has been written so far in academia but some chunks of information have been produced in the media talk shows and local newspapers that is largely against this movement.

My discussion in this section has two important points. First, it will explain, how gender and sexuality is decolonizing in the context of Aurat march in contemporary Pakistan and secondly, how Aurat march will become a very important game changer for Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s as part of the women’s movement. Therefore, when I say woman or Aurat, I consider all those who self-identify as a woman, irrespective of their assigned sex at birth.

Najeeb [29] writes that Aurat March in Pakistan is a trajectory to advocate for the rights of women because women rights are already declared and recognised by religion, society, culture, and constitution. So, struggling for to achieve these rights is not challenging religion. Similarly, Siddiqui [30] writes in Tribune about the facts of Aurat March in Pakistan. The writer emphasises that although the Aurat March is an advocacy movement to empower women in their decision making and their choices, but certain clergies and right-wing columnist and commentators have not only condemned it in the past but also claimed that it is an un-Islamic act and they further demanded to charge the organisers under blasphemy-which carries the penalty of death in Pakistan. The provincial government of Khyber Pukhtunkhawa passed legislation and demanded an inquiry to investigate the possibility of a foreign agenda that is supporting the Aurat march in Pakistan [31]. In this way, majority of the feminists’ organisers have received intense backlash and even death and rape threats since the inception of this movement in Pakistan [32].

This shows the difficult circumstance for women and other key allies to discuss women or gender issues in Pakistan. When a women’s jisam (bodies) are discussed openly, it is considered negative, and implies sexualised intentions. Therefore, it is hard in a religio-cultural patriarchal country like Pakistan to discuss or talk openly about choices and jism (body). Additionally, the dominance of men in Pakistan’s patriarchal society has created an over-whelming mindset that instead of holding the perpetrators accountable in major cases like rape, enforced marriages, and honour killing, the victims are blamed (Nafees, 2020). A local newspaper shows the following statistics where 97% of men has committed crimes against the women,

During last three years, nearly 3794 persons became victims of social crimes in the country that included violence like enmity (572 killed, 214 injured), honour killing (512 & 28), domestic violence (320 and 91), sexual violence (90 and 282), petty dispute (220 and 71), property dispute (181 and 83), child abuse (101 and 75), matrimonial dispute (100 and 32), and many other crimes left 188 dead and 155 injured. If we look at the gender of the perpetrators who committed these crimes, we find only 122 females out of 3794 perpetrators – nearly 3% of these crimes were committed by females against 97% male perpetrators (Nayadur, 2020).

Although, the environment is very tough for the Aurat March in Pakistan because of the male dominant society where patriarchy is deeply embedded, but still every year the supporters of Aurat March are growing in numbers, and they are largely advocating for the rights of women or feminism in Pakistan. I demonstrate that patriarchal societies speak for male dominancy and introduce a male dominant culture that produce ways to (neo) colonisation. This practice gives authority to men and declare them supreme gender in the society. In this way, the patriarchy becomes an agency in provision of power and authority to male gender in contemporary periods, but decolonization is also a reality that goes hand on hand and in against with the (neo) colonial practices in contemporary periods. Decolonization not only speaks against the power and authority but also perform advocacy for women rights and feminism. In this way, colonial forms of power and authorities do not remain persistent and contentiously changing with respect to the time.

1.7 Methodology

The qualitative data that is presented in this chapter is collected in Peshawar which is an urban space of the province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. This research project is approved by Human Resource Ethics Committee (HREC), a committee responsible to analyse and evaluate all methods and methodologies under informed ethical standards. During the data collection in-depth and photo-elicitation interviews were conducted with ten members of Guru-Cheela communities (18 years and above) and 04 photovoice interviews within the guru-cheela communities. Participants include gurus and cheelas who resided in their Deras. They were asked open ended questions regarding their early childhood life in their parental houses, their acceptance into their family and community, and how their parents responded to their gender and sexual identity. All the participants belong to a diverse group with different socio-economic, gender and sexuality status and majority of them have a rural family background, but at the time of interview, they migrated to Peshawar to find security, anonymity, and earning opportunities. The exit population of trans communities is not known but some of the Government and non-government level statistics are available, but they are not authentic or fail to provide the exact population of transgender communities in Pakistan. Amongst these statistics the census conducted in Pakistan in 2017 have of reported that there are 10,418 Khawaja Sara individuals in Pakistan, but this figure was widely criticised by the national level organisation with a question as how in a population of 208 million will only be this least numbering of trans individuals.

The process of data collection was scheduled and completed in the months between May–September 2020, when the Government of Pakistan announced relaxation in the COVID-19 pandemic, public health lockdown restrictions. All the interviews were face-to-face and recorded through an audio recorder after obtaining consent from the participants. On completion of the face to face in depth and photo-elicitation interviews, the interviews were carefully translated and transcribed and properly analysed with thematic analysis using computer-based software i.e., NVIVO.

2. Decolonizing the gender of Khawaja Sara and Hijra in contemporary Pakistan

The previous sections of this chapter have first highlighted the coloniality and Islamisation and then the different ways of decolonization of gender and sexuality through the policies, ordinances, moderation, and advocacy movements in colonial subcontinent, postcolonial and cotemporary Pakistan. This demonstrate that the colonised and postcolonial practice that Colonised and Islamised the gender and sexuality are now turning around in contemporary periods and soon they will be revisited in future. In this section, my focus will be to investigate the living lives of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s in contemporary Pakistan and to make an analysis of their frequent marginality, discrimination, and oppression as an impact of British colonialism and Zia’s Islamism because the human history during colonialism is embarked with discrimination and oppressions.

Taking into account the mainstream intolerance and the non-acceptability of Khawaja Sara and Hijra communities, is not only problem in South Asia but the LGBTIQ communities across the globe are facing the brunt of in-justice, violence, oppression, and discrimination because of the colonial rule’s legacy in the past. However, identity politics of LGBTIQ communities is turning the prevalent situation and its continuous circulation it is becoming into mainstream of acceptance in western culture and so as in South Asian countries like Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh where certain policy enactments have given voice to the communities of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s in contemporary periods. Therefore, through decolonization an organised contentious effort is underway to repeal colonial enactments policies and other legislation. In this vein, decolonization of gender is an important step in making of equitable and just society and to reclaim our culture and identity that have been taken from us through Victorian moralities.

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 guru-cheela 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 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,

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 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 guru-cheela 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, guru-cheela 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) 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).

Figure 1.

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

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.

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.

2.3 Decolonizing the sexuality of Khawaja Sara and Hijra in contemporary Pakistan

The previous section has thoroughly discussed the colonisation and decolonization of gender in contemporary periods. This section draws attention on to the living experience of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s in Peshawar city and examines participants’ sexuality, sexual orientation, and their intimate relationship with other men as their boyfriends within the intersection of political, cultural, and religious forces. Furthermore, this section also considers the desires of Khawaja Sara and Hijra for others that provide a nuanced understanding to their sexual identity in contemporary period. As discussed in the earlier section of this chapter that same sex relationships and same sex desires are widely subjected to threat publicly and also are prohibited in the light of different laws in Pakistan, but the data conducted in this research show that the members of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s communities are practicing their sexuality in a way as they understand. During in-depth and photovoice interviews participants shared stories about their intimate relationships with other cis-heteronormative individuals and discussed their own desires to do so.

I demonstrate that the presence of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s in non-western culture is an important entity that offers a continuous challenge to the colonial legacy of gender and sexuality in contemporary Pakistan. This section describes- how the Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s develop their intimate relationships with their boyfriends (Marakh) and will also discuss the responsibilities and obligations on both individuals when they are with one another during their intimate relationship. Moreover, the discussion will further highlight those challenges that push the communities of Khawaja Sara and Hijra away from the mainstream in contemporary Pakistan (Figure 5).

Figure 5.

Sitting near with a Marakh or boyfriend on the sofa.

2.4 Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s intimacy and their sexual practices with cis-heteronormative men- A practice to decolonise their sexuality

This section follows the discussion on the intimate relationship⁷ of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s with cis-heteronormative people as their boyfriends in Peshawar city. The term “Marakh” a Pashtu word, is used for the cis-heteronormative man who has relationships with Khwaja Sara and Hijra. These relationships are developed across the different regions of Khyber Pukhtunkhawa. This term is equivalent to the term “Griya” which is used in Punjab region in Pakistan [2]. The Girya or Marakh relationship within the communities of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s are very important because it gives legitimacy and acceptability to the sexual union between a Khawaja Sara/Hijra and a man in their own understandings [39]. This was also discussed with Chocolate in a photovoice interview when she responded in the following way,

I am in a relationship with my boyfriend from the last six years. In this picture, I am sitting with my boyfriend on a sofa. I always assume that my boyfriend is like a husband for me, and I am his wife. “Za dasi ganram che za da di hapal malgaree jenny yama awo di mata as Khawand lage” (Direct Pashto Quote) I believe that I am the girlfriend or wife of him, and he is like my husband (English translation). As I said, I feel like a girl because of my gender and sexuality.

Chocolate statements illustrate the sexual union and sexual relationships that are already discussed in Khan’s [2] and Awan’s [39] research studies. Here, in a photographical discussion, Chocolate explains her gender and sexual identity as she understands them. Chocolate strongly believes that she feels like other females or girls and therefore, she loves to wear feminine dress and desires for her boyfriend to satisfy desires that are entrenched in her sexuality. This indicates that the intimate relationship between Khawaja Sara/Hijra individual and a cisgender person is always built or develop on the conventional ways like a husband-and-wife relationship is developed. In this way, Chocolate further reflects that we also have choices in selecting our intimate partners and the same are also done by the cis-heteronormative individuals. Both members develop their relationships based on their own well and the choices that they prefer either to develop their relationship with a young or older age individuals. When further asked in terms of preference of selecting the young and old cis-heteronormative partners. Shanza further added that,

Majority of our Khawaja Sara and Hijra members like to have an adult partner (35–40 years) to whom we call “Kansra or Kansragan” in our Hijra Farsi while some of our members also like to have a young partner (18–25 years) to whom we call “Banta or Bantagan” in our language. In addition, we also love that our partner has a muscular figure, Bearded face and also a high posture to give us satisfaction and fulfil our desire just like other female or girls want or desire to do so (Shanza PVI).

Shanza’s reflection is interesting at this point, because it shows her own choice and preferences of selecting an intimate partner. Although these relationships are stigmatic and challenged by law in Pakistan but still, they are commonly practiced in the communities of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s in Peshawar city. The relationship between a Khawaja Sara/Hijra and a cis-heteronormative man is being considered an illegitimate practice in the non-western culture of Pukhtoon society but still it is repeatedly practiced. The data shows that although intimate relationship for Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s are illegitimate and challenged by law and local culture but still they are regularly practiced. And this means that the intimate relationship is an enticing practice for both Khawaja Sara and the cisgender person in many ways because first Khawaja Sara and Hijra being understanding of themselves in opposite gender (female) and enjoys their intimacy with other cisgender people. Secondly, the cisgender people also give them opportunity and their availability for developing the intimacy relationship in between. Thirdly, although the intimate relationship of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s are challenged by both society, culture, religion, and law but there are many loose spots present in both the socio-cultural spaces (discussed in detail in the previous chapter) that give participants a chance to perform their sexuality in a way as they understand. Last but not the least Shanza statement demonstrates that being Khawaja Sara they also idealise the hegemonic personality of men and for that they also love to have a strong partner that could give them love, security and protection.

Similarly, Alishba, a cheela in her twenties add in this way,

If you look into picture 6, we both are looking exactly like a husband and wife. My boyfriend is wearing a masculine dress with a male shawl wrapped around his neck, and I am fully dressed in female clothes giving an impression of a female or cute girl.

Alishba’s narration adds that majority of the boyfriends are the married men who have their own families including children but still they love their relationships with Khawaja Sara and Hijras. In the similar vein, Alishba has also an intimate relationship with a married man, and she was very happy with him. They routinely meet with one another and often went out for shopping, hangouts and perform sex. This indicates that cis-heteronormative men are married men in majority who develop a relationship with Khawaja Sara/ Hijra’s in Peshawar city. At this point, I would like to add here that the discussion on marakh and his relationship with Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s is beyond the scope of this chapter (Figure 6).

Figure 6.

In a happy mood with my Marakh (Boyfriend).

Taking the western literature in consideration on intimate relationship of transgender, Tobin [49] in his research discusses that cisgender partner always delegitimized his partner transgender gender identity. While Riggs et al. [50] in their study suggest that many transgender individuals find difficult to negotiate their intimate relationship with their cisgender partner because they believe that their bodies are the reason that make hindrance in their smooth intimate relationships. Similarly, for many transgender societal barriers like negative social attitude, stigma, extremism can therefore also affect their intimate relationship with their cisgender partners because these societal barriers bring mental health problems for both [51]. But, in this research participants have discussed their sexuality and their intimate relationship in different ways. The data show that it is common practice in the life of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s to have or to keep a boyfriend or husbandly relationship with cisgender men. Within the context of their intimate relationship, a Khawaja Sara/Hijra’s recognise themselves as woman and a wife, whilst the cis-heteronormative men are considered as boyfriends or husbands. For Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s their intimate relationship is one of the main aspects because doing so they are challenging the normative assumptions of gender identity and sexuality which directly line up with the process of decolonization. The normative assumptions are largely focused on binary of gender, where men and women are allowed to be partnered in relationship, and those who perform against the normative assumption their action are not only challenged but their relationship are prohibited in the context of local culture, religion, and laws. Therefore, for many the intimate relationships of Khawaja Sara and Hijra are illegal acts, but for Khawaja Sara and Hijra their intimate relationships are important because of their gender and sexual identity in ways as they understand. In this way, members of Khawaja Sara and Hijras are not only performing their gender and practicing their sexuality, but they are challenging the coloniality of gender and sexuality.

Nisar [52] in his PhD thesis discusses that almost every participant of his research project has had a romantic relationship with other men at some stages of their life, whilst Awan [39] describes it a non-lineage sexual relationship in the communities of Khawaja Sara and Hijras. Shanza a cheela in her twenties and a girlfriend cum wife of a cis-heteronormative person in a guru-cheela house, expresses her feelings in the following way,

I am in a relationship with my boyfriend from the last four years. If you look into the picture, you can see that I am standing very close to my boyfriend just like a female, or like a girlfriend or like a wife. I am fully dressed up in feminine way with light makeup. My boyfriend too is wearing a masculine dress and he has a beard and moustache too. These characteristics show my intimate partner is different from me.

Shanza, when reflecting her intimate relationship or partnership with her boyfriend, articulates an understanding of her own gender and sexuality and her partner too. She states that my boyfriend has masculine characteristics like beard, moustaches and he is also wearing a masculine dress, while she too herself defined and identified in feminine way with light makeup and femininely dressed. This shows that Shanza understands herself different from the gender identity that has given to her on birth. She further describes her sexuality in a way as she is delighted and feels satisfied with her boyfriend who has wrapped hands around her and trying to hug her like a husband that can easily be seen in the picture. At this point the picture shows two different scenarios i.e. On one side it explains Shanza’s understanding of her gender and sexuality and secondly it also describes her relationship and her level of satisfaction that she is getting in her daily routine life. However, in the study of Tobin [49] some of his participants were unwilling to enter in an intimate relationship because of dissatisfaction and discomfort for their bodies, but in Shanza case she was very satisfied for being a transgender woman with feminine sexuality that derives towards cisgender men as her immediate partner (Figure 7).

Figure 7.

Standing in a good mood with Marakh like husband and wife.

In the similar vein, Nayela a guru in her thirties lives in Peshawar. She was in a relationship with a boyfriend for 10 years but at the time of photovoice interview, she had breakup with her partner. She added in the following way,

My partner always considered me as his girlfriend, therefore, I used to wear women dresses for him and to give myself a girlish outlook. We both were attracted towards one another and have developed sexual relationship. We were like in a husband-and-wife relationship.

Like Alishba, Nayela has also a period of time when she was in a relationship with her boyfriend for 10 years. She describes her relationship in good terms because she was happy and relaxed from her boyfriend. I demonstrate that for Khawaja Sara or Hijras, relationships.

are very important because they get love, care, protection and fulfil their sexual desire. Nayela further adds that intimate relationships are kept secret in the communities because people in the wider communities consider them homosexual and then they face hardship and stigma. But Nayela deny the assumption of homosexuality because for her, her intimate relationship was heterosexual in total because she considered herself female or girl. Participant further discussed that she and many like her friends attempt to transform and develop their physical appearance like females or girls by taking hormones and visiting regularly for medical check-ups.

During the interview, Nayela further adds that its much hard for senior Khawaja Sara/Hijra’s like us to find another good relationship after our break ups.

“Che kala zamong break up oshe no mong sara dery options ye. Ya ho mong bal talluq joor ko, ya mong bus daka shan pate sho, ya mong zanla bal ashna oguru kam ta che mong Ruta wayoo (Pashto Direct Quote). When our relationships break up then we have three options ahead. We either develop another intimate relationship, or we stop making any other relationships, or we try to look for a young cis-heteronormative person Ruta in Hijra Farsi (English Translation). In this picture-9 I am looking an old enough because my body gained weight and I am no more a cheela. Although, I wear colour full dresses and even dance in the night parties (Nayela PVI).

Nayela‘s above statement demonstrates clearly that break ups and separations in relationships for them are very common and it happens to every Khawaja Sara and Hijra individual very frequently. As discussed earlier these relationships are neither properly documented nor they are bounded under certain obligations likely written documents of understanding or relationship deeds. Therefore, the chances of separation are very high because of no legal protection or documentary proofs. But the lack of documentation sometime produces ease in the life of participants because they do not want to put themselves liable to someone for longer period of time. Shanza discusses that when our boyfriends start putting extra restriction or put us under certain limitation like not allowing us to participate in dance parties, restricting our meetups and other movements then we try to early separation (Figure 8).

Figure 8.

Fully dressed like women in blue and wearing a Shawal.

Riggs et al. [50] study explain that transgenders in Australia consider their past intimate relationship experience when they want to develop their relationship in future. Especially the older transgender individuals have less belief in their relationship if they could occur in future. This was also find out in Nayela’s discussion as she described that for Khawaja Sara or Hijra there are three options after their breakup i.e., she looks to find a new partner and develop another intimate relationship based on her past experience, or she may quit for ever and stop making further relationship if she is senior enough and has bad experience in her relationships or if she still desires but is not accepted further by any cisgender men then she starts a different kind of relationship called “Ruta” in Hijra Farsi. In a “Ruta” relationship probably a senior Khawaja Sara or Hijra develops a sexual relationship with a young cis-heteronormative boy or young individual based on her desire. This relationship is different from marakh and Murat relationship and is also beyond the scope of this chapter.

The above discussion highlights the sexual orientation of Khawaja Sara/Hijra’s and describe their romantic/sexual relationship that they develop with other cis-heteronormative men as part of their partnership in Peshawar city. The data discussed in this chapter further concludes that almost every member in Khawaja Sara and Hijra communities in Peshawar city have gone through this process and have had their relationships with men in the past. Therefore, Shanza stated in the following way,

I would say that there are very limited numbers of Khawaja Sara or Hijra individuals who are not in a relationship with their boyfriends. Sanga che pa society ki da yao hazy khawand sara relationship v. Daka shan boyfriend zamong yao intimate partner v” (Direct Pashto Quote) We develop a husband wife relationship with our partners same as like a woman develop her relationship with other man as her husband or male partner (English translation) (Shanza IDI).

Using the concept of hybridity from postcolonial theory to discuss participants intimate relationships with cisgenders in the cis-heteronormative and Islamised culture, I demonstrate that although the prevailing cultural environment in Peshawar city and the identities of participants are opposite to one another, but still the Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s are practicing their sexuality according to their own understandings. At this point of time the concept of hybridity is an enticing concept to discuss because, Bhabha argues that the purity of any culture is a myth in society and the culture has an ever-changeable essence characterised by flux and transformation which is anchored through interconnectedness and inter-mixedness. Therefore, any foreign traits or new sentiments that are introduced in a specific culture produces third spacing and a way out of binary thinking, which is ultimately supporting the identities of transgender communities. Bhabah [53] explains the permeability nature of culture in his concept of Hybridity that diffuses different traits and develops a new diverse cultural identity.

Similarly, on one side the existing laws, religion, and cultural norms are strictly prohibiting homosexuality, which legally includes the sexual relationships of Khawaja Sara/ Hijras, but on the other side the participants neither fall short of their desires and nor they fail to explore their sexual identity in a way as they understand because of their fully supported relationship with cis men. This shows that participants can easily find opportunities and so as their partners to practice their sexuality in the extreme Islamised culture of Pakistan because of the permeable nature of existing culture that allow other newly introduced practice to diffuse in. In this chapter, I found that Khawaja Sara and Hijras were in their intimate relationship with their partners in a culture that was famous for its rigidness and under strict Islamic teachings. All the members of guru-cheela communities were free to meet with their intimate partners and even during the data collection I personally meet with some of the intimate partners too who came to see them to their Deras. This shows the fluidness and permeability of culture where many new practices are diffusing easily. But, at same time Khawaja Sara and Hijra still face many repercussions both religiously, culturally, and politically that make their relationship tough for them but not impossible. Although they can practice their relationship easily, but they cannot perform them openly because of stigma and public ridicule. Huddart [54] calls this a hybrid space that always emerges in the doubleness and resist against any power and representation. However, for participants and their partners it is not easy to perform their intimate relationships but are not impossible and, in this way, the challenging aspect of participants becomes a kind of betrayal from the cultural norms that goes hand on hand and against the prevailing socio-cultural environment where they are living. This hybridization of culture and sexuality is being possible of hybridity which is a move towards decolonization in contemporary periods.

3. Conclusion

Decolonization in contemporary Pakistan is meant to change the marginalised and oppressive status of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s and provides support to stand against those policies that are affecting them since long. This is because members belong to gender minorities in contemporary periods are getting more awareness of their rights and having said that societies especially the political institutions, allies’ organisation more open and acceptable to the self-perceived gender identities. Although they are still discriminated too, and their lives are challenged by many in the wider communities but at the same time communities of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s also struggle to adjust themselves in a way as they understand their gender and sexuality with their constant resilience and resistance to those policies and regulation that made them criminal and complex their identities. Friere [55] writes that frequent marginalisation and obstacles aware those communities who are impacted. Therefore, to relive themselves and get freedom, those who are oppressed start struggling within their own communities or groups against the draconian laws and policies, where decolonization becomes the only option left that find different ways for those who are in marginal position and leave them with no choice but to liberate themselves from the cycle of discrimination and oppression. I, therefore, demonstrate that the performances of Khawaja Sara and Hijra like waring of feminine attires, painting of lips and faces and wearing jewelleries and the practices of developing intimate relationship and desire for other cisgender men is not only their resistance against the colonised and Islamised policies but also is a step towards decolonization of gender and sexuality in contemporary Pakistan.

This chapter described participants understanding and their gender and sexuality i.e., who they are, what they want to be either male/female or both and how their living lives are intersected in the wider communities where they are living. The scholarship developed in this chapter first bring the discussion on the coloniality of gender and sexuality within the impact of the British colonialist regulations, and Islamisation of gender and sexuality through Hudood ordinance in postcolonial Pakistan. Finally, the chapter discusses the decolonization of gender and sexuality within the context of Khawaja Sara and Hijra and the different ways that they do and understand in their daily routine life. After engaging with the members of Khawaja Sara and Hijra in a face to face direct and photovoice interview and drawing on the responses provided this chapter describes that participant are struggling and ensue their resilience with the support of their key allies against all the barriers that are confronted to them. Therefore, this chapter develops a body of knowledge that is centred outside of the western culture, and which is mean for to highlight the unsettling global hegemonic discourses of gender and sexuality in contemporary Pakistan.

In this chapter using postcolonial theory as theoretical framework my discussion explains the decolonization of gender and sexuality in contemporary Pakistan. I demonstrate that when the same sex sexuality is widely regulated in a culture that does not give opportunity of expression then sexual minorities like Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s find themselves in a difficult circumstance because their understandings are challenged with different socio-cultural norms, different policies, and religious teachings but at the same times those who are repressed always in the struggle to find different ways for their survival as per their understandings. Therefore, drawing on the history of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s in the Mughal and Ottoman empire their positions were of respectable individuals, and they were counted amongst the nobilities because the culture was open to accept same sexual love. But with their repressed sexualities and complex gender identities they were criminalised under the Britishers colonial policies and their stoning to death and physical punishment within in the Islamised legislation in Postcolonial Pakistan during Zia regime.

Similarly, the mystical powers, spirituality, and the legality in Khawaja Sara and Hijra performances have also put them amongst the people with sacred positionalities where they are considered a sign of good-well and the extinguishers of dark time. However, these sacred positionalities are very limited in some parts of the country and are applicable to very few communities of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s individuals in Pakistan. A small chunk of cisgender people hardly believes in their sacredness and spirituality although the sacred imaginative positionality cannot be ignored in Pakistan. Despite of these myths, Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s are under severe and extreme environment, and they are regularly discriminated and marginalised in all walks of their life. Research scholarships (discussed earlier) have declared that colonial polices are largely responsible to introduce the participants as criminals which outcasted them from the mainstream and they are now and then pushed to sex work and other immoral activities. Therefore, the discourses like spirituality and criminalization introduce the participants within the context of legality and illegalness in their identities that further complex and multiply the identities of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s in contemporary Pakistan. To address the problem of multiplicity and complexity in the identities, member of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s were engaged in a face to face and photovoice interviews do discuss their gender and sexual identity formation and the different ways as the understand themselves in a postcolonial Islamic Pakistan. The data discussed in this chapter were participants self-narration and their stories of marginalisation that showed impact of colonised and Islamised policy regulation, but this was not limited but the discussion further described the decolonization of gender and sexuality where members of Khawaja Sara and Hijra’s were struggled to advocate for their rights and practicing their sexuality. This research comes up with the aims to identify and analyse the religious, social, cultural, economic, and political forces shaping pre-colonial and colonial understandings of Hijra/Khawaja Sara gender and sexual identities in the sub-continent and to explain the different ways in which those who identify as Khawaja Sara and Hijra in Peshawar city negotiate these various forces in their processes of identity formation and sexual orientation.