Blogs

This is my cultural presentation on hijras. And below the link presentation I included the annotated bibliography from my Gender and Work class. I got my information from those sources. 

SDLC%20111%20Hijra%20presentation.pptx

Bibliography

1.

Abdullah, Muhammad A., Zeeshan Basharat, Bilal Kamal, Nargis Y. Sattar, Zahra F. Hassan, Asghar D. Jan, and Anum Shafqat. "Is Social Exclusion Pushing the Pakistani Hijras (Transgenders) towards Commercial Sex Work? A Qualitative Study." BMC International Health and Human Rights, November 19, 2012.

This research article explores social exclusion leading hijras (in this case, Pakistani hijras were studied) towards sex work which in turn puts their health at risk. Social exclusion generally makes work opportunities unavailable to the hijras and so they turn to sex work in order to make a living. The stories and research in this article will help me identify which types of social exclusion hijras in Pakistan face and how they deal with it. Moreover, I will learn more about the nature of their sex work and the risk/effect of AIDS on the hijra community.

 2.

Baig, Rabail. "Foreign Policy Magazine." A First for Pakistan's Third Gender. March 30, 2012. Accessed November 18, 2013. http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/30/a_first_for_pakistans_third_gender.

This article discusses the advancements hijras in Pakistan achieved and which rights they now have. It has information on new policies that the Pakistani government implemented for their hijras, such as affirmative action. I will use Pakistani’s achievements as a model for what Bangladesh can and should achieve in granting hijra rights.

3.

Hossain, Adnan. "Beyond Emasculation: Being Muslim and Becoming Hijra in South Asia." Asian Studies Review 36 (December 2012): 495-513.

Hossain explains the dynamics of Hinduism and Islam in hijra lifestyles and practices. He delves into the origins of the hijra identity within those two religions and compares them. The process of emasculation is also explained (for the non-intersex hijras). This article is insightful in its explanations of how hijras fit within the religious-social construct of specific South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, or Bangladesh and how their religious and hijra identity affects their employment. Hossain mostly uses Bangladesh for his examples and compares them to that of India’s.

4.

Karim, Mohosinul. "Hijras Now a Separate Gender." Dhaka Tribune, November 11, 2013. Accessed November 18, 2013. http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2013/nov/11/hijras-now-separate-gender.

Karim reports a major recent advancement for hijras in Bangladesh—Bangladeshi hijras being recognized by the government as a separate gender. They do not have to register themselves as either male or female, but they now have the right to register themselves as hijra and receive a national ID. This means that they are being recognized as citizens of Bangladesh and will no longer go formally ignored by the government and most importantly they have access to things such as healthcare. This is the beginning of a huge change and movement for hijras. I will use this article to compare to the changes that had been made in India and Pakistan for their hijra population and identify methods that can improve employment opportunities for hijra in Bangladesh.

5.

Khan, Sharful Islam, Mohammed Iftekher Hussain, Shaila Parveen, Mahbubul Islam Bhuiyan, Gorkey Gourab, Golam Faruk Sarker, Shohael Mahmud Arafat, and Joya Sikder. "Living on the Extreme Margin: Social Exclusion of the Transgender Population (Hijra) in Bangladesh." Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition 27, no. 4 (August 16, 2009): 441-51. doi:10.3329/jhpn.v27i4.3388.

This article looks at how the social exclusion of the hijras in Bangladesh society affects their lives. It includes 20 key informants, 10 focus group discussions, and field observations of hijras and their community. Those will be primary sources for identifying issues in the hijra community in Bangladesh and I will tie those into their work lives and also link them to issues hijras in India and Pakistan face.

6.

Malti-Douglas, Fedwa. "Hijras." In Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender, 695-96. Detroit [etc.: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2007.

Gives a cultural and religious definition of what a hijra is. However, it does not encompass all religious aspects of who hijras are as it relates it mostly to Hinduism. It would be effective in putting to perspective the roles of hijras in India as opposed to Pakistan and Bangladesh. I can use this definition and details to compare it to an “Islamic” inspired perspective hijras and their role in Pakistani and Bangladeshi society.

7. 

Nanda, Serena. "Hijra and Sadhin: Neither Man nor Woman in India." In Gender Diversity: Crosscultural Variations, 27-36. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 2000.

This includes information such as their social organization and economic adaptation, hijra prostitution, their social status in India, and so forth. All these are pertinent in my research to identify the issues that hijra face in society and how the issues contribute to their lack of work opportunities. This is one of my main sources for the hijra in India.

8.

"Need for a Hijra-friendly Development Process." Dhaka Courier, November 23, 2012.

This article talks about issues the hijras in Bangladesh face in government policy and the social structures. Since this article is very recent it is extremely helpful in highlighting the issues at hand and it will lead me towards what types of change is needed for the hijra community. I will use this as another supporting document for the types of oppression and issues hijra in Bangladesh face.

9.

Patel, Amisha R. "India's Hijras: The Case for Transgender Rights." George Washington International Law Review.

Patel describes the ritual of emasculation in India and human rights matters as it applies to hijra and what types of measures should be taken. It discusses visibility as a technique to get them above social exclusion. I want to take the legal aspects of this argument and apply it to human rights for hijras in Bangladesh.

10.

Stewart, Chuck. "Bangladesh." In The Greenwood Encyclopedia of LGBT Issues Worldwide, 333-46. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2010.

This explains the nonexistence of LGBT recognition in Bangladesh and how the hijra fit into that social structure. It looks at the hijras from a Bangladeshi cultural perspective and defines who the hijra are and their role in Bangladeshi society. It has information on education, work, community, government policy, family, health, religion/spirituality, and much more regarding the hijra. Since it encompasses various topics in relation to the hijras in Bangladesh, I will use this as my go-to for information on hijras in Bangladesh.

11.

Suthrell, Charlotte A. "The Hijras of India." In Unzipping Gender: Sex, Cross-dressing and Culture, 75-113. Oxford: Berg, 2004.

The chapter that I will be using from this book has various stories of hijras in India and their personal accounts in facing harassment and their lifestyles. It is very much similar to the stories of Bangladeshi hijras. I will use examples from some accounts to contextualize the types of harassments hijras face as well as to learn about who counts as a hijra and who does not. This can be comparable to the hijras of Pakistan that has two schools of thought.

12.

Usmani, Basim. "Pakistan to Register 'third Sex' Hijras." The Guardian. July 18, 2009. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/jul/18/pakistan-transgender-hijra-third-sex.

This article discusses the Pakistan government’s movement to help integrate hijras into Pakistani society by registering them as part of a survey. Hijras are normally kept away from the public eye as they live in hijra specific communities. By making them part of a survey, they become more visible to the public along with the issues they face. I want to use this to display the kinds of changes and advancements that hijras are achieving in the south Asian region. I will add more from Bangladesh and India in order to support the different types of advancements as well as setbacks.

SDLAC%20105%20Reflection%20Paper%202.docx

SDLC%20Culture%20presentation.pptx

Hindi%20language.pptx

For my final artifact I have recorded a short monologue about my favorite Hindi movie. artifact%204.mp3

This is a short monologue about my Christmas break plans. artifact%203.mp3

Here I am learning to conjugate verbs (feminine and masculine) and use them in a sentence (present and future tenses)

For my first artifact I posted a picture of the me beginning to learn how to start a conversation.

At the beginning of the semester my goal was to learn five words a day which sounded reasonable and very doable to me at the time. Soon I realized that it was not as easy as it seemed. Not having enough time to practice was one of the issues but also remembering the old ones while learning new ones was also a problem. Since most of the words are not used in daily conversations, practicing them is not possible, and trying to simply memorize them only worked for a short term. I would remember them for a couple of days but since I didn’t use them I would eventually forget them. At this point I have realized that my goals are pretty unrealistic so I have switched to learning fewer vocabulary words and also learning words that I would use in daily conversations.

I think the small cultural presentations are a great idea for us to not just learn more about the culture of our target language but also about the cultures and languages that our classmates have picked. Learning about the Swedish Fika gave me a tiny glimpse into the Swedish culture, traditions, and language. The presentations are like windows from which we can view life in a different country and learn something new that we wouldn’t have bothered to otherwise. The presentations were not only interesting but they also expanded my horizons: before learning about Fika I would have never even thought about Sweden. The country was simply a dot in the map but after learning something about their culture I have a tiny piece of information that I can associate it with.

Body language plays a tremendous role in Indian culture to supplement the spoken Hindi. In a highly gendered society it is better to avoid confrontations and misunderstanding by simple body language. For example a female will need to avoid eye contact in order to not draw attention to herself. Men for their part don't shake hands or touch women in public. Any pointing of the finger during a greeting should be avoided because of its accusatory connotation. They point with their chin to avoid offending anyone. These are just some basic signs and gestures that would help a non-native Indian to avoid confrontations while interacting with the natives.  

SDLAC%20105%20Final%20Reflection%20Paper.docx

My final artifact is a recording of me and Sabrina conversing in shuddho Bangla! The translation is in the video as we speak. We're talking about my summer in Bangladesh and it is in interview style! There was one point that I said a word that was not in shuddho Bangla so my speaking is not perfect just yet. 

Artifact 4 movie

For my last artifact, I just made a short video of myself saying a few introductory sentences in Hebrew. I just said "ma nishma" which means what's up? Then I said "mashlomcha Rachel" which means my name is Rachel. Then I said "me efo at New Hampshire" which means I am from new hampshire.

This is a drawing that I made one day of an army base and I labeled it with some of the words that I knew that were military related. It seems silly, but as I have said, learning about the military is one of my favorite activities and I thought this was fun!

This second artifact is a list of numbers that I wrote down when I was re-learning how to say the numbers. It was helpful for me to have transliteration as well as the Hebrew spelling so I could read it as well as actually know how to say it in English.

I don't know why this posted upside down! I can't change it! Anyways, this is my first artifact. It is my writing out the alphabet in Hebrew. The top row right under the English reads right to left, and then the second row right to left, and so on. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet.

Body language in Turkish culture

Nonverbal language is very important in every culture. Interestingly, sometimes the same body language gestures can have different meanings in different cultures and sometimes what we find strange and unacceptable, other cultures find common and acceptable. What I found interesting is that in Turkish culture, people like to stare at one another more than people from other countries are used to do that. When such behavior occurs, people visiting Turkey should not be afraid and think it is rude because this is just one of common body language gestures in Turkey.

Another body language very common in Turkey as well as in my home country, Bosnia and Herzegovina, is when you hold your palm up and bring fingers towards the thumb. This means that you are telling someone that something is good. For example this is common for food, when Turks like a meal they are eating they make this gesture, non verbally saying that they like the food. This is also used for clothes and it commonly used to say that a person is attractive.

Another interesting body language that Turkish people use but people from other countries usually perceive as strange is kissing and touching with close friends. It is very common to see two men, or two women walking with their arms around each other, and sometimes they even hold their hands. Even though Westerners would think that such gesture implies sexuality, this gesture in Turkey does not tell anything about people’s sexuality but it just means that they are close friends. When people introduce themselves to one another then a handshake between those two people is usually enough and most common in such situations. It is also common to kiss each other on each cheek when meeting. This can happen between two men, two women or a man and a woman. For example, in my culture it is common for girls and women to kiss each other when meeting but it is unacceptable for men to kiss each other. This would immediately imply their sexuality. That is why I found this Turkish gesture very different.  

Another gesture that is also common in some other cultures in kissing somebody’s hand. Younger people usually kiss older people’s hand as a way to show respect. The more traditional the family is, the more important and common this gesture is. Children and young adults usually kiss their grandparents’ hands.

One of the most common gestures in Turkey is clicking your tongue and raising your eyebrows. This gesture means a “no”. Turkish people use it daily. When I was in Turkey, whenever Turkish people wanted to say no, they would use this gesture. What I found interesting is that my Turkish friends who I speak English with, they use this gesture even when speaking in English. They say no but click their tongue and raise their eyebrows. For example when somebody asks them if they want a cup of coffee, instead of saying just no, they would use this gesture. Also, when they shake their head, it means that they are confused.  On Turkish streets it is common to hear sellers telling buyers “Gel, gel” which means come, come! This is usually accompanied by waving hand downwards. I heard this daily when I was in Turkey walking down the street; all the sellers in shops were saying “Gel, gel” and were waving. My friend explained it to me that that is how they try to attract their customers.

There are also several gestures that should be avoided when in Turkey. For example, the OK hand gesture is usually a bad and offensive gesture in Turkey. When you show this sign to someone in Turkey, it means that you are accusing that person of being a homosexual. Even though this sign is usually a positive sign in other countries, in Turkey however it has a bad connotation and thus it should be avoided. Another gesture that should be avoided is pointing your finger at someone. This is rude in almost every culture as people feel uncomfortable being pointed at, so it was not very shocking for me when I found out that this gesture should be avoided in Turkey as well.  

In my culture, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, just like in Turkey it is very rude to blow your nose loudly in public. However, when I came to the United States I was really surprised and shocked when I realized that blowing your nose loudly is not considered bad manners and that everyone does it. It was hard for me to get used to that because we back home never do that in public.

I also found it interesting that placing your thumb between your index finger and middle finger and showing it to someone in Turkey is considered offensive. This has a bad meaning and should be avoided. In Turkey it has the same meaning as showing the middle finger to someone.

Among all those gestures, I also found out that it is also very rude and disrespectful to put one leg over the other when sitting with family. This is disrespectful because the sole of the foot is considered unclean and should not be pointed towards people especially the family.

I believe that before visiting a country, it is necessary to get familiar with its culture. We may put ourselves in an uncomfortable situation if we are not familiar with body language gestures. Some gestures that have positive meaning in our culture may have a negative meaning in other cultures. I would always say that the OK sign means something positive, however, in Turkey it has a bad meaning. In this post I have mentioned several gestures that are most common in Turkish culture and those that should be avoided. Next time I go to Turkey, I will definitely be careful about my non-verbal expressions.    

This is my final reflection on my independent Hindi studies. 

Hindi Final Reflection

My goals this semester were:

1. Perfecting shuddho bhasa (formal Bangla)

2. Getting past basics of writing, being able to write longer complicated sentences using more conjuncts.

3. Increasing my speed/familiarity with reading.

Looking back on these goals, I think I successfully completed all the following, which is super! However, I think I met goals a little below the mark, meaning that I did not meet my desires as well as I would have liked to meet them. I wanted to increase my reading to the point that I would not stumble as often as I do, but I haven't gotten there yet.

As for conjuncts, I did learn some, but there are SO many that it's hard to figure out how to get more out of the way. Sabrina and I decided that it would probably better to confront them as I came across them rather than seeking them out because there are various exceptions connected with them that it would complicate my learning more than help.

I realized that writing is my strongest asset in Bangla; I feel the most comfortable with writing and am the best at spelling and recognizing which letters to use except occasionally. Especially in comparison to reading, my speed is faster with writing. 

Regardless, I am pleased with my progress because I have met the basics. Now that these are cemented, I can focus on fine tuning my learning next semester- which will be more challenging because it probably means dedicating more time to it. I think this semester helped me figure out best what I want to do more with Bangla now in terms of how to learn more and get better at it. Excited for next semester, but I will be working on it over winter break!