Hijra and Nadleehi

Gender is usually associated with two sexes, male and female. However, there are other parts of the world associating another term with gender. The Hijra community from the Hindu tradition classify themselves as the “third gender”, they consider themselves to be neither male nor female. The Navajo tradition also classifies a community of the Nadleehi people as possessing “two-spirits” or a third gender. Moreover, the Hijra and Nadleehi are mostly referred to as being a man woman, but not only a man or only a woman. Some Hijra’s and Nadleehi’s are born with only male genitals, while the rest are born with both male and female genitals. They may undergo a genital surgery to transform and create their identity into the alternative third gender they desire. The Hijras and Nadleehis present themselves as females, even though they claim to be a third gender, by behaving and dressing like females. They adopt the female voice, hand gestures, clothes, make up and hairstyles. Similar to females, they want to be desired by men, however they are not able to reproduce due to impotency, impaired or lack of female sexual organs. The Navajo and Hindu culture acknowledge and accept the masculine and feminine traits encompassed by these human beings and consider them as sacred and special people created by the greater divine. In this essay, I will further discuss my viewpoint on the existence of the Nadleehi and Hijra people, the way they are treated in their culture and how they would be understood in a modern religious tradition.
OR the thesis should start as: This essay seeks to explore the existence of Nadleehi…

What is your view on the existence of the nadleehi and hijra people?

The Nadleehi and Hijra people do encompass different desires, traits and identities than what I am familiar with, but that does not limit my acceptance of them. In my viewpoint their existence is totally fine and I respect them for their unique personalities. They are human beings just like