Posts Tagged India
The Third Sex
The society I grew up in, it has a rather aversive attitude towards the eunuchs (and transgenders).
To an extent that they are considered lesser of humans who does not get the social status of a regular man or woman; to an extent when the eunuchs live separately from their families- in ‘eunuch colonies’, don’t get proper education as they are very often abandoned by their families and what they mostly do for a living is prostitution.
The word ‘hijra’ (the Hindi/ Bengali/ Urdu word for eunuch) is derogatory in South Asian languages- something you do not use in ‘sophisticated’ company, more a slang than anything else. Sadly it is not much different in the English-speaking world either. I don’t know about the social statuses of that this less than fortunate group in the context of the more civilized Western society, but if ‘the word’ is used as a derogatory term- there is little chance of anything being different to a vast degree- after all.
While our biologist friends can give us a perfectly reasonable scientific reason of what causes a person to be a man, woman or a member of ‘the third sex’- I am more concerned with the way society treats this group. I find it funny in having to spell it out- but there is more to an individual than what ‘gender’ you can categorize him (or her or whatever) as- it’s time we became aware of it.
Just as sad it is that anyone will find it funny when a group of Indians with a disgusting sense of humour passing through a photograph of Serena and Venus Williams wearing a sari- saying the following-
‘You will die laughing at how ‘hijra’ Venus and Serena looks’.
Here is the picture:
No, I’m not laughing.
I see two American ladies wearing YOUR traditional clothing, I see two ladies belonging to a different racial group than you wearing YOUR traditional clothing- I see these two ladies are trying to embrace your culture. I see nothing funny in that, I think it is nice.
It’s time you stopped laughing too.
Tale of sacrificial goats
Posted by Pepper in Culture, Irrationality, Religion, WTF on October 12, 2009
An Indian man has recently taken it to a whole new level by marrying a dog. Apparently, he did this to redeem himself for stoning two dogs to death 15 years back.
*Shudder*
I guess this newly developed ‘conscience’ was heightened by yet another little fact that he was suffering from some sort of paralysis and loss of hearing in one ear; and the local pundits ‘prescribed’ that he was still carrying the ‘curse’ of brutally killing those animals and it needed to be ‘made right’ by ‘marrying’ another animal of the same species.
Firstly- how do these two incidents compensate each other? I mean- by what logic you can make a heartless ‘murder’ of two innocent animals okay- by ‘marrying’ another?! What has happened to you? Have you forgotten that you have a ‘brain’? Apparently so!
Secondly- I bet he was thinking that he was doing that poor dog a favour by marrying her despite her being a ‘lower rank’ animal than himself. I mean, what is it with humans and their (sometimes religious) belief that all the animals on this earth were ‘created’ to ‘serve’ them?! Really, what is it with this crap?
Superstitions prevail in different levels in all cultures, I am sure; and India- like many- is oftentimes crossing the limit of sanity or common sense. Unfortunately, this is not limited to the poor and illiterate, as one might assume. This creeps into the lives of the educated, urbanized, rich and famous just the same.
Example? Well… take the Aishwarya Rai incident for one- where Ms Rai, a prominent Bollywood actress and former Miss World was made to marry a tree in order to cleanse herself of the curse (of being born ‘under the influence of the planet Mars’) that brings some sort of bad luck or possible death to the first man she marries.
After all- by this action the tree will bear the consequences of the ‘curse’ (the ‘sacrificial goat’) and her future ‘human’ husband would be safe. Yet again, obviously, wronging the mute and innocent trees is not deemed as a ‘sin’; in fact, it is even permissible. And c’mon- marrying a tree??!! So much for the 21st Century crap! Looks like Stone Age to me.
One last word before I go today- I think it is time these pundits/ those clergymen and mullahs are made responsible for the sermons they produce while playing with the brains of the illiterate trusting idiots. They hold far too much power in their hands than it is safe. I truly think they are like arsonists- mentally ill, power hungry and destructive- and by no means deserves the feverish obedience they receive.
Who is with me on this?
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