hijras

Noun (1)

hijra (plural hijras)

1. A eunuch in South Asia, especially one who dresses as a woman.
   • When the Mughal court was disbanded, Muslim hijras were exposed for the first time to the other, Hindu, tradition of eunuchry.1993, William Dalrymple, City of Djinns, Penguin, published 2004, page 172
2. A (typically biologically male or intersex, but sometimes biologically female) member of a somewhat feminine third gender found in India and Pakistan.
   • The subjects of this study are hijras or the "third sex" of India, individuals who occupy a unique, liminal space between male and female, sacred and profane.1995, Gayatri Reddy, With Respect to Sex: Negotiating Hijra Identity in South India (Worlds of Desire: The Chicago Series on Sexuality, Gender, & Culture)...

Noun (2)

hijra (plural hijras)

1. Any similar flight or emigration to a better place.
2. Emigration from a non-Muslim country to a Muslim one.
   • Hijrah means Moving from a land of Shirk to a land of Islaam.2007, Abu Maryam Isma’eel Alarcon, transl., The Three Fundamental Principles of Imaam Muhammad bin ‘Abdil-Wahhaab, Al-Ibaanah E-Books, page 17

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