The Hijras of India

First broadcast February 2007

This is the story of around one million people in India who, in the eyes of the society at large, have no real identity.

The story of those who describe themselves as 'transgender'.

Most people around the world would think of them as transvestites: men who chose to express themselves as women.

Many in India are that, but many are also traditional eunuchs and they are eunuchs for a variety of reasons.

In India they are often know as the 'Hijras' and they strongly divide opinion all over the country.

Rupa Jha meets Laxmi, an Hijras, to find out more about their role in modern Indian society.

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