Definitions for "Hijra"
See Hegira.
event - (HIJ-rah) the flight of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE, which marks the first year of the Islamic, or Hijra calendar. Also spelled Hegira.
the move of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to medina in the year 622 [CE]; the base year of the Muslim calendar.
Hijras are transgender people in the South-Asian context who are either born biologically male or intersexed, but chose to undergo a process of castration, which is experienced as a sex-change. They have over the years, despite oppressive regulation of their lives, been able to carve out a space and function for themselves. Hijra's are the most visible sexuality minority identity in India. They are a marginalized and oppressed community who live today in a context of non- recognition and extreme hardship. The realities of the hijra existence in Indian cities is circumscribed by experiences of violence. Unrecognized by the legal framework they face oppression from the state, society and family and are discriminated against in employment, education and by the medical establishment. They struggle to find acceptance of their transgender experience and to be recognized and live their lives as women. Most of them are sex-workers.
An Indian word for a homosexual and/or transgendered effeminate man who has joined a group of other hijras, and who may have undergone a traditional castration operation. The word hijra is derived from Persian hiz, meaning "ineffective, incompetent -- one who does not have impact" from "a male point of view...He looks like a man, but is not a man" (source: Muzaffar Alam, quoted in Jaffrey, The Invisibles, p. 144).
Transgendered persons in India, considered to be a "third gender" by some. Hijras are followers of the goddess Bahuchara, and traditionally dance and sing at weddings and births celebrations. Reputed in folklore to have the power to bless or curse. Compare with Gallae.
a journey from one place to another