The Bangladesh government is planning to recruit hijras, who have officially been recognized as a separate gender in Bangladesh since 2013, as traffic police in an attempt to rehabilitate and offer them new employment.
Hijra is a feminine gender identity that some people who are born male or intersex adopt, often labeled as transgender by the West. The government’s initiative to hire them as traffic police has received high praise from Bangladeshi netizens.
Hijras face widespread discrimination in Bangladesh and have trouble finding work.
The department of social services estimates that there are over 10,000 hijras in Bangladesh. Since the 2012-2013 fiscal years, the government has allocated about 9 crore taka (US$1.15 million) to the hijra skills development program.
Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, is one of the most unlivable cities in the world, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, and its extreme traffic congestion contributes a lot to this fame. The city simply can’t handle the increasing volumes of traffic, and it is a source of stress for many. There’s hope that as traffic police, hijras will be able to contribute to reducing the traffic congestion.
Read more: globalvoicesonline.org – Written by Pantha Rahman Reza
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