![]() These communities have consisted over generations of those who are in abject poverty or who have been rejected by or fled their family of origin. Many hijras today live in well-defined and organised all-hijra communities, led by a guru. This encouraged anti-hijra sentiments throughout the Indian subcontinent, the legacies of which continued in the post-colonial era. Starting in the 19th century, hijras were targeted by British colonial authorities who sought to eradicate them, criminalized under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (1860), and labeled as a criminal tribe in 1871. Hijras have a recorded history in the Indian subcontinent since antiquity, as suggested by the Kama Sutra. Hijras are officially recognized as a third gender in the Indian subcontinent, being considered neither completely male nor female. In Pakistan, they are known as Khawaja Sira, the equivalent of transgender in the Urdu language. Also known as Aravani, Aruvani, Jogappa, the hijra community in India prefer to call themselves Kinnar or Kinner, referring to the mythological beings that excel at song and dance. In the Indian subcontinent, Hijra are eunuchs, intersex people or transgender people.
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