Here's why this woman from Germany is batting for the third gender

Indologist and Sanskritist Dr Renate Syed talks about investigating the lives of hijras in India and Pakistan

Dr Renate Syed, German Indologist and Sanskritist, can speak Hindi and Urdu with the ease of a local. It's her skill in linguistics, along with a deep-rooted interest in Indian culture, that inspired her to author a book on the life of the third gender in India and Pakistan in 2015. It's been four years since, but her fascination with the hijras is not over. She is currently in the city to deliver a lecture on interacting with hijras at Mumbai University.

Dr Renate Syed is in the city to deliver a lecture at Mumbai University in Kalina. Pic/Shadab Khan

Till about a decade ago, Syed wasn't aware of the existence of hijras. While poring over antiquated Sanskrit texts, she stumbled upon references to the 'tritiya prakriti'. She soon undertook a trip to Delhi, Meerut, Varanasi and Lahore, and began to meet the hijras daily, often in their homes. "Sometimes I felt like an intruder and went away, overwhelmed by stress," she recalls. For the most part, they were open, welcoming and hospitable. "I think because I am a woman, and because I did not need an interpreter, they were quick to accept me. They understood that I was genuinely interested in their lives." But there were times when they would refuse to answer, use obscene language and laugh at her. "They made sexual remarks, lifted their skirts and so on, but I learned that I was never in danger."

Syed, who teaches at two universities in Munich, took five years to put the interviews together. She even returned to Pakistan and India to gain further clarity. "And then the hijras laughed, 'Aap nahi samajh sakti hai hamari zindagi aur sanskriti.' And I said, 'No, I will understand you.' And I think I did."

According to her, the lives of hijras in India and Pakistan aren't too different. "It is the same tradition. The hijras in Pakistan are Muslims, of course, and as long as they respect Sunnite Islam, they are accepted. They share the culture of hijras in India: leaving their native families at a young age, living together in houses with extended families with a guru, who rules over the chelas and shishyas [pupils]. They are as discriminated in Pakistan as in India, but they are strong to face their fate."

For now, Syed hopes the people will acknowledge the culture of the third gender. "Hijras can fight for themselves. They do not need foreign people like me to help them. Anyhow, I wish, Indian society would acknowledge their otherness."

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