Bangladesh government makes Hijra an official gender option

November 11, 2013

Earlier today, the of Bangladesh  chaired a cabinet meeting which decided to grant official government recognition of people who gender identify as, people who identify as neither male nor female.

Recognition brings several government related benefits to Hijras including priority in education, housing and health. Their gender designation will also appear on their passports as Hijras. English language documents will refer to them as Hijras as the government claims any English translation would be misleading. The decision was announced by Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan at a media briefing following the meeting.

Hijras already have voting rights in Bangladesh. A survey by the Ministry of Social Welfare says 10,000 people who identify as Hijras live in the country.