Negotiating Marginality: Social Identity and Exclusion among the Hijra Community in Rajshahi, Bangladesh
- 1 Department of Sociology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
- 2 Department of Sociology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Abstract
Using a mixed-methods approach, this research explores the social exclusion and identity negotiation of the Hijra community in the Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh. The study is based on social exclusion theory ( Estivill, 2003 ; Beall & Piron, 2005 ), social identity theory, and gender performativity, and examines data from 50 respondents (17 urban, 8 semi-urban, and 25 rural) sampled in April and May 2025. The results depict lack of access to education (36% never went to school), occupational exclusion (82% dependent on hijragiri —traditional activities such as dancing at ceremonies or collecting money), economic instability (68% of the total earning ≤ 10,000 BDT monthly), discrimination and violence to the full extent (94% of them had been abused), restricted social involvement (26% had not participated in any events), and urban-rural differences, where rural areas present higher rates of exclusion. Stigma, however, continues to be a problem even after the 2013 third-gender recognition and it intersects with class and location ( Crenshaw, 1989 ). The recent research is more focused on the cultural tightness that reinforces binary norms and the paradoxical consequences of legal recognition.
- Al-Mamun, M., Hossain, M. J., Alam, M., Parvez, M. S., Dhar, B. K., & Islam, M. R. (2022). Discrimination and Social Exclusion of Third-Gender Population (Hijra) in Bangladesh: A Brief Review. Heliyon , 8, e10840. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10840
- Amanullah, A. S. M., Abir, T., Husain, T., Lim, D., Osuagwu, U. L., Ahmed, G. et al. (2022). Human Rights Violations and Associated Factors of the Hijras in Bangladesh—A Cross-Sectional Study. PLOS ONE, 17, e0269375. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269375
- American Sociological Association (2018). Code of Ethics . American Sociological Association.
- Amin, A., Rahman, M., & Khan, S. (2022). Disability Studies Quarterly, 42 , No. 2.
- Aziz, A., & Azhar, S. (2020). Social Exclusion and Official Recognition for Hijra in Bangladesh. Journal of Research on Women and Gender, 9, 3-19.
- Barua, A., & Khan, S. A. (2023). Frontiers in Sociology, 7, Article 995448. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2022.995448
- Beall, J., & Piron, L. H. (2005). DFID Social Exclusion Review . London School of Economics and Political Science.
- Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (pp. 241-258). Greenwood.
- Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
- Butler, J. (1990). Gender Trouble : Feminism and the Subversion of Identity . Routledge.
- Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, No. 1, 139-167.
- Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2017). Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
- Dangaran, D. (2024). Defending Disability Law Claims for Gender Dysphoria . American Bar Association.
- Estivill, J. (2003). Concepts and Strategies for Combating Social Exclusion : An Overview . International Labour Organization.
- Fontana, E. (2020). Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27, 2548-2557.
- Gelfand, M. J., Raver, J. L., Nishii, L., Leslie, L. M., Lun, J., Lim, B. C. et al. (2011). Differences between Tight and Loose Cultures: A 33-Nation Study. Science, 332, 1100-1104. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1197754