The third floor of India - photo project Tom Pietrasik

In connection with the notorious decision of the Supreme Court of India on the recognition of the equal rights of transgender people in the country, Tom Pietrasik decided to satisfy the curiosity of people around the world and created a photographic project, which shows and tells how to live those who do not identify themselves nor female, neither male floor. Hijra - transsekusalov caste in India. They also call themselves Aravan.

An event of this historic magnitude, I could not miss under any circumstances. In India, home to more than 2, 5 million people with a similar gender identity, and they had been taken to keep quiet, considering them "backward».



Hijra in traditional Indian clothing.



Aravan gathered in Kuvegeme, Tamil Nadu. It hosts the celebration of the marriage of Aravan and Mohini, the female incarnation of Lord Krishna.

Tom Pietrasik - British photographer and filmmaker, freelance specialist permanent National Geographic Adventure, as well as an honorary member organizations UNICEF and the World Health Organization, NGOs: ActionAid, Oxfam and "Save the Children».

Among his very interesting projects including such as: "Polio eradication in India," "The consequences of hunger in India", "Doctors of Asia", "Asian Women».



Aravan "marry" in the god Krishna temple traditional ceremony in Kuvegame, Tamil Nadu



Kavia earns his living by working as a prostitute on the streets of Chennai.



Transgender beauty contest Hijra in Vilappuram in Tamil Nadu.



Woman going for an evening meeting with friends in the city Vilappuram in Tamil Nadu during the annual week-long gathering of transsexuals.

Why I chose this project as one for your portfolio? Because of discrimination against the so-called hijra or Aravan live in poverty, are forced to earn a living by begging, prostitution or dirty work. They are everywhere outside the law. It's even worse than lepers, they even formally considered as people.
Now, representatives of non-traditional sexual orientation can work and participate in social life on an equal basis to all.



Lakshya is a Kuchipudi dancer, she is ready for action in Chennai.



Senior Head of household Aravan in his bedroom.



Transsexual female in modern Western dress in Chennai.

The decision was forced: there really millions of transsexuals, transvestites and other transgender people. Under transgender refers to not only those people who "wanted to play" in the person of the opposite sex. It consistently perceive themselves to other floors people (transsexuals), change clothes (transvestites), people with signs of both sexes (intersex), people who have pronounced on the nature of the signs of both sexes (adroginy). There are also bigendery (denied their involvement in one or the other sex, and in turn change the preferences) and agendery, which generally can not identify with. But, of course, most of the transgender are transsexuals and transvestites.



Hijra shows photographs in which she is shown before and after the transformation from man to woman.

By the way, not so long ago Ridus Agency publishes a photo report about the life of a transvestite, Sima, who talked about his hard life and complete inability to feed his family.



Sima as women



Sima family

Previously, India was considered the third floor outside the law. This was followed by a purely domestic difficulties. For example, these people could not get to the closed meeting or did not know how to define their gender in medical operations. Not so long ago the eunuch activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi filed a petition in court to the rights of minorities were recognized as legitimate. Otherwise transgender could neither study at universities or to receive medical care, and generally considered to be "invisible" layer of the population.



Sima in the image



Sima is waiting for customers



Sima at work

The Court also recognized the rights of these people with the phrase that human rights in general should not be infringed under any circumstances. And if identity is necessary to introduce the concept of the "third sex", it means that such a thing will be legalized, because even for the treatment of HIV, and infected them almost every second transgender, these people are forced to seek means of the worst ways.



Sima drinking pills to stop the development of HIV



Sima's going to work



Sima shaves, while his wife is preparing dinner

Tags

See also

New and interesting