“From now onward, a third gender individual can be a voter with their own identity, as a hijra,” Abdul Baten, the Director of National Identity Registration declared. The trans community of Bangladesh has finally been granted the right to register to vote under a “third gender” identity category. Government officials allocated the category on the national voters’ list for the country’s trans community, commonly known as hijra. Prior to the change, Bangladeshi voters could only

Interesting read in the New York Times about India’s third gender  which profiles the lives of members of the hijra community.  While the Government of India officially recognized transgender as a third gender in 2014, harassment and marginalization are still a fact of life for many members of the community. The article touches on the paradoxical position hijras have in Indian society—often revered and welcomed at weddings and births but