The Third Sex: A History of Transgender Peoples and Their Rights in South Asia

On January 20, 2025, and within hours of returning to power, the Trump administration issued an executive order that the U.S. government would recognize only two genders, male and female, defined at birth. In contrast, in 2014, the Supreme Court of India ruled that transgender people have the right to self-identify as male, female, or a “third gender.” The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019 in India allows transgender people to have a self-declared gender identity and receive a certificate of identity. It is currently estimated that there are more than 3 million third-gender people living in India alone. Similar rulings and laws have been passed in neighboring Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. 

What are the implications and impacts on the transgender people of the rest of Asia and the United States? At a time when the current U.S. administration has issued an executive order recognizing only two genders, we will discuss this and other issues with Amrita Sarkar, one of the leading transgender activists of India, and Zia Jaffrey, author of The Invisibles: A Tale of Eunuchs of India. 

Amrita Sarkar is a leading activist who has been working for the transgender community and their wellbeing for more than two decades and has been involved in numerous capacity-building initiatives for the same communities at the national and international level. She is the one of the founding members and the Secretary of IRGT – A Global Network of Trans Women and HIV. She also has made two films on transgender issues. Amrita is a trained counsellor and had completed her post-graduation in social welfare. 

Zia Jaffrey is the author of The Invisibles: A Tale of the Eunuchs of India (Pantheon/Vintage). She has written cover stories, features, and book reviews for many publications, including Vogue, The Nation, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Elle, where she ran the front of the magazine, wrote literary pieces, and cultivated new voices. Her work has been anthologized in several tomes, most recently, in PEN America’s India at 75, and Toni Morrison: The Last Interview and Other Conversations. She has covered South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, AIDS, and the Israel/Palestine conflict, and is currently writing a book about Palestinian-Americans.