Book review
BOOK REVIEW
THE THIRD SEX AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS
By Rajesh Talwar
The third sex and the human rights as the name suggests throws light on the plight of the third sex. In this book, Rajesh Talwar talks about not only the socio economic plight of the third sex but also discusses various problems faced by this community while struggling for their political and human rights at the international level. Many of us would be perplexed about the usage of terms like eunuchs/ transgender/ transsexuals/transvestites and in many instances, intentionally or unintentionally, tend to use these terms interchangeably.
Hence in order to make the task easier for the readers, Talwar has done a remarkable job by segregating each community from one another and explaining it. The author has neatly demarcated various communities on the basis of both sex and gender.
The author speaks vastly about the human rights of the third gender and how are they looked after not only in India but also in the West. A wider section of the book is however reserved for the transsexuals and the hijra community. One learns that in the battle of the sexes, the transsexuals and the Hijrahs have been allotted the bottom slot in the hierarchy. Talwar in his book states that “A transsexual is a person who has the internal and external bodily features of one sex, but has the irrefutable conviction that he or she belongs to the opposite sex” while “Hijrahs is the term which embraces both hermaphrodites as well as eunuchs”. In the first chapter the book talks about the various myths and realities affiliated with the Hijrah community of India. A section of the book discusses about forcible castration and whether it is prevalent in the Indian society? The answer to this question is revealed in the book itself by the statement given by the President of Hijra Kalyan Sabha that “98 percent of men are castrated men”. The book revolves around many such sensitive and dreadful issues which
THE THIRD SEX AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS
By Rajesh Talwar
The third sex and the human rights as the name suggests throws light on the plight of the third sex. In this book, Rajesh Talwar talks about not only the socio economic plight of the third sex but also discusses various problems faced by this community while struggling for their political and human rights at the international level. Many of us would be perplexed about the usage of terms like eunuchs/ transgender/ transsexuals/transvestites and in many instances, intentionally or unintentionally, tend to use these terms interchangeably.
Hence in order to make the task easier for the readers, Talwar has done a remarkable job by segregating each community from one another and explaining it. The author has neatly demarcated various communities on the basis of both sex and gender.
The author speaks vastly about the human rights of the third gender and how are they looked after not only in India but also in the West. A wider section of the book is however reserved for the transsexuals and the hijra community. One learns that in the battle of the sexes, the transsexuals and the Hijrahs have been allotted the bottom slot in the hierarchy. Talwar in his book states that “A transsexual is a person who has the internal and external bodily features of one sex, but has the irrefutable conviction that he or she belongs to the opposite sex” while “Hijrahs is the term which embraces both hermaphrodites as well as eunuchs”. In the first chapter the book talks about the various myths and realities affiliated with the Hijrah community of India. A section of the book discusses about forcible castration and whether it is prevalent in the Indian society? The answer to this question is revealed in the book itself by the statement given by the President of Hijra Kalyan Sabha that “98 percent of men are castrated men”. The book revolves around many such sensitive and dreadful issues which