Transgender, non-binary and Khawaja Serai identities

In Pakistan, Khawaja Serai community (Pakistan’s indigenous transwomen community) do not tend to refer to themself as ‘Khawaja Serai’. This is a word from the Urdu language is used in a more respectable fashion since the origins of the Urdu language to refer to the Khawaja Serai community as compare to other words in Urdu / Hindi/ Punjabi or Sindhi languages such as H*jra, K**sra and Kh*dro etc which are derogatory terms used by cisgender/ heterosexual folks to ridicule, harass and abuse the Khawaja Serai community.

In India, ‘Hijra’ is not seen as a derogatory term now and instead used as a reclaimed word just like ‘Queer’. ‘ Kinner’ is another word used by the Indian Hijra community and ‘Kothi’ for effeminate gays. Hijra Farsi which is the traditional coded language of the Khawaja Serai community, the word we use is ‘Moorat’ for not only Khawaja Serai folks but gender/ sexually diverse and even effeminate gays who are also referred as ‘Kotkhi’ or ‘Zenana’. ‘Mutajannis shakhs’ ‘Ashkhaas’ can be Urdu literary terms in order to indigenous and mainstream non-binary, gender non conforming and androgynous folks.

Even ‘Gay’ isn’t an Urdu word, I’ve struggled to find an exact word but we can use ‘Humjins’ and for ‘homosexuality’ we can say ‘Humjinsiyat’ instead of ‘Humjins parasht’ which is offending to a certain level. Also, trans men don’t mind Khawaja Mard, Pakistan’s national identity card (NIC) databases officially recognize three genders other than the binary terminologies e.g. ‘Khawaja Aurat’ (Transwomen), ‘Khawaja Serai Mard’ (Transmen) and ‘Mukhanus’ (Intersex). Arabic, ‘Mukhannis’ is used for trans women, intersex and gender non-conforming folks.

In our South Asian languages, there isn’t much historical context or traditional acknowledgement developed (which will take time) for non-binary or gender-confirming folks. To surprise of most Khawaja Serai culture is very inclusive and diverse incorporating street transwomen and gay folks in a synergistic community. Pakistani culture much like other South Asian cultures is patriarchal, conservative and heteronormative where the ‘third gender’ Khawaja serai community came to the origin as they were ostracized by the mainstream society and were able to form their subculture/ communities.

South Asian women never had that privilege and we all know how still women are controlled in our culture that’s why we don’t see lesbian visibility or even openness about their sexuality, trans men also don’t have the same privilege, rights or freedom to leave their families and be on their own. Khawaja serai can earn and live on their own as they have a strong sense of community can survive in ghettoized dangerous neighbourhoods working as beggars and sex workers under unfavourable conditions.

Class privilege, education and exposure has given freedom to a newer generation of urban upper-middle-class segment of Pakistanis to embrace their gender non-conforming and non-binary identities that were never before possible, that does not mean societal discrimination and restrictions go away for them but it is still safer to be open within a closed group of friends as compared to those who like effeminate gays and traditional ‘Khawaja serai’ transwomen are kicked out of their homes to form their own Khawaja serai communities and sub-culture.

It’s just culturally appropriate to address a previously acknowledge community with the set terminologies they choose but more consensus and cohesion needs exist between gender and sexually diverse communities to acknowledge their existence. Gender diverse communities have always existed in South Asia, the ‘traditional vs new’ must not be seen set as contradictory to another.

What we need to address is this issue of ‘US’ vs ‘THEM’ that otherizes or be at conflict with the existing traditional & ancient gender diverse Khawaja serai community from the emergence of the modern non-binary and gender-conforming identities, intracommunity conflicts within LGBT+ communities stem more from class, racial and gender indifferences than from semantics.

We need a greater intersectional understanding of existing cultures and historical communities, there can never be a tomorrow without a past.

By Muhammad Salman Khan (Sal Khan), Editor of Queeristan.