Bangladeshi prison intake procedures follow a male-female binary, so third-gender individuals are not officially distinguished. This dualistic discrimination begins a life of structural deprivation for Hijras, a constant that institutional practice and academia have yet to recognize. Bangladesh’s historic recognition of hijra as a “Third gender” in 2013[1] was celebrated as a milestone of dignity and equality. But even after a decade later no such implementation can be seen. In a recent survey of hijras, 73% were found to have violated their economic rights, 59% were discriminated against regarding education, and almost 59% their political rights.[2] Still, hijras were now under the law with equal rights as citizens. The hijra’s are highly visible in ordinary stigma and invisible in the registries that present the greatest risk to them.
The hijra identity is not a new-fangled designation, but it is a historical institution. They played honorable functions in the pre-colonial Mughal courts and Hindu rituals in pre-colonial South Asia. Hijra groups in present-day Bangladesh still operate by the guru-chela model[3], living on the constant cultural relegation in the system. Modern living, however, does not offer that much dignity. The evidence of discriminatory actions against hijra in education, accessibility to houses and healthcare and participatory engagement has been clear in terms of their survival, ranging from begging, ritual activities and even sex work.[4] This is a tenuous living, but even worse is the situation of prison, which may deny the aspect of protection of the community and even fail to offer protection within an institution.
Hijras’ voice has grown in South Asia, which has opposed the tokenism procedure and has insisted on presence in the state apparatus. In practice, they are targeted by random application of official policies, daily discrimination when they seek government assistance, and even mistreatment when applying for government jobs.[5] The incongruity shouts to most men in leadership in the community: When society tallies us as human on paper, why are we not tallied as a person when we are most in need of being tallied as a person, in prison?
The prison itself is binary, in its construction, with one building holding the cells of males, another with those of females, one set of officers, male or female, one set of assumptions, male or female. Hijra does not belong in such an architectural sphere. This situation was called the so-called double punishment[6], the sentence itself and the prospect of being subject to abuse, harassment and humiliation at being compelled into a box that denies who you are. UN Office on Drugs and Crime (2022) also highlights the alienation to the threat of HIV amid transgender and gender-diverse individuals in enclosed settings, as this provision of premises is not a discrimination-based decision merely, but as a kill or death sentence.[7]
Such a gap is evidenced by the situation in the prison in South Asia. The state of Bangladesh prisons is already deplorable. The prisons in Bangladesh are reportedly overcrowded, their systematic abuse has been recorded, they lack healthcare, and even have worse infrastructures.[8] [9] In South Asia, housing of hijra detainees is not a policy anyway, and in most cases, detainees are placed in known male or female wards, mainly at the discretion of the bureaucratic officials, and this increases their exposure to danger. Hijras continue to face considerable problems in India, such as being taken into custody by the prison authorities and not recognizing their identity, or holding them in isolation or in other infrastructures.[10] [11] That is not the case throughout the region. The pattern of law is improving and the pattern of institutions lagging.
The question is, why is the urgency now? Since this recognition is already provided, hijra people are more visible than ever. Since the international frameworks provide you with ready-made plans, and since each day when nothing is being accomplished is one more day that hijra people are languishing in silence in overcrowded jails.
In light of this situation, certain measures can be adopted. The intake procedure ought to monitor the identified gender of the individual, respecting the individual’s privacy and also respecting the individual when in jail. The housing accommodations should be safe whether apartheid hijra units that are gender-dignity friendly, or general wards consistent with self-identification gender, depending on the preference and judgment on the safety of the individual. It would entail trained personnel ensuring access to health services such as prevention of HIV, as well as gender-affirming care. The search must be conducted by personnel of the same sex as the inmate and must observe his privacy. Effective grievance mechanisms should allow individuals to file complaints of abuse without open scrutiny being provided. The employees should be educated on gender diversity, human rights and how to treat humans respectfully. The right clothes, hygiene products and bathing places are the basics of respectability. Wherever possible, alternatives to custody should all be expanded and guaranteed access to legal representation. Hijra communities are to be consulted and incorporated in the policy making, monitoring and evaluation. Anonymous data needs to be gathered to monitor the incidents, enhance the practice, and ensure there is accountability without the need to embarrass the individuals. It is essential that these measures are adopted and integrated into policy and practice.
These recommendations are consistent with the prevalent international norms. According to the Mandela Rules, every prisoner has to be treated with respect, and discrimination should be prohibited.[12] The Yogyakarta Principles on the application of international human rights law indicate that individuals who are in custody are required to be heard and to be guarded diligently in order not to harm them.[13] The Bangkok Rules, which have been created to accommodate women prisoners, demonstrate that prison institutions created around a single gender can be more harmful to other groups than expected.[14] Bangladesh does not have to work out new regulations; it has to keep those which were already developed along with certain updates.
Well-established frameworks already have credible evidence around the world on what strategy works. In Bangladesh, where hijra prisoners may be at the risk of being raped[15], the country can follow US standards to eliminate prisoner rape by employing the following standards set forth in the US Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), making individualized, case-by-case housing decisions about people who identify as transgender or intersex, giving careful consideration to the person and her or his own views on safety, and not searching bodies with the perceived intent of determining genital status; these are practical principles Bangladesh can implement immediately.[16]
In other jurisdictions, it is more. SB 132[17] permits people in California prisons to seek housing and searches according to their gender identity; to ensure this reality, the corrections department has recorded procedural measures detailing training of staff, screening, and transfers. Ontario (Canada) instructs that the placement of trans inmates should be based on self-identification, gender, or placement preference unless there is a documented health/safety reason to the contrary (by the authorities), with an expectation that cases where those are not done will be justified.[18] The UK Ministry of Justice policy architecture (refreshed 2024) requires respectful treatment, case conferences, risk assessment, strict rules on search and privacy in the whole prison and probation system.[19] The practices are united by the same logic: self-identification, safety checks, quality personnel, privacy-respecting searches, and healthcare continuity. And at the international level, UNODC guidance[20] on prisoners with special needs and on transgender people and HIV in closed settings articulates a package of health, confidentiality, and harm-reduction interventions that correctional healthcare can offer even in overstretched systems.[21]
This is not a bureaucrat kind of urgency but this is an urgency of lifesaving. Hijra people are not mere groups of people. They are individuals who are already at the margins of society, and being in jail exposes them to further risk. Failure to do anything, conditions violence, trauma, and the inability to obtain access to healthcare regularly. It is useless as well as violation of Art. 27 of the Constitution of Bangladesh to be recognized as a citizen and not to be protected.
It is an admirable step taken by Bangladesh in identifying hijra as a third gender. However, it must be appreciated by all institutions, including prisons. It is vain when it comes to the cell door comes to a halt. Justice can’t end at the prison gate, as dignity can’t be based on the location of your body. The state is on the brink whether it is possible to enhance recognition with factual rights or allow prisons to reverse all the efforts achieved under the law. Now that we know what to do, it is time to act. So, Bangladesh must decide: is recognition a headline, or a human right?”
References:
[1] Human Rights Watch, “I Want to Live With My Head Held High”: Abuses in Bangladesh’s Legal Recognition of Hijras (2016) <https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/12/23/i-want-live-my-head-held-high/abuses-bangladeshs-legal-recognition-hijras>accessed 18 August 2025.
[2] MS Alam and others, ‘Human rights violation among third gender in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study’ (2022) 17(7) PLOS ONE e0269375 <https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0269375> accessed 19 August 2025.
[3] MS Alam and others, ‘Human rights violation among third gender in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study’ (2022) 17(7) PLOS ONE e0269375 <https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0269375>accessed 19 August 2025.
[4] T Jahan, ‘Third Gender in Bangladesh: Socioeconomic Challenges and Policy Gaps’ (2021) International Journal of Scientific Research and Engineering Development <https://www.ijsred.com/volume8/issue2/IJSRED-V8I2P6.pdf> accessed 20 August 2025.
[5] Human Rights Watch, “I Want to Live With My Head Held High”: Abuses in Bangladesh’s Legal Recognition of Hijras (2016) <https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/12/23/i-want-live-my-head-held-high/abuses-bangladeshs-legal-recognition-hijras> accessed 17 August 2025.
[6] Penal Reform International and TGEU, Placement of Trans and Non-Binary People: A Guide for Prisons (2024) <https://www.penalreform.org/resource/placement-of-trans-and-non-binary-people-a-guide-for-prisons/> accessed 18 August 2025.
[7] UNODC, UNAIDS, WHO, UNDP and PRI, Technical Brief: Transgender People and HIV in Prisons and Other Closed Settings (2022) <https://www.unodc.org/documents/hiv-aids/publications/Prisons_and_other_closed_settings/22-03088_Transgender_HIV_E_ebook.pdf> accessed 17 August 2025.
[8] US Department of State, 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bangladesh (2024) <https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/bangladesh/> accessed 18 August 2025.
[9] Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia), Country Information Report: Bangladesh (2025) <https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/country-information-report-bangladesh.pdf> accessed 17 August 2025.
[10] Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Lost Identity: Transgender Persons Inside Indian Prisons (2020) <https://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/download/1606377171Lost%20Identity%20Transgender%20Persons%20in%20Indian%20Prisons.pdf> accessed 17 August 2025.
[11] Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Advisory: Treatment and Care of Transgender Persons in Prisons (10 January 2022) <https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/CareofTransgendersinPrisons_11012022.pdf> accessed 19 August 2025.
[12] United Nations, United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) (2015) <https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/Nelson_Mandela_Rules-E-ebook.pdf> accessed 19 August 2025.
[13] The Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (2007), Principle 9 <https://yogyakartaprinciples.org/principles-en/> accessed 18 August 2025.
[14] United Nations, United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules) (2011) <https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/Bangkok_Rules_ENG_22032015.pdf> accessed 20 August 2025.
[15] Lubna Jebin and Umme Farhana, ‘The Rights of Hijra in Bangladesh: An Overview’ (2015) 3 Journal of Nazrul University 1, 1–2 <https://ssrn.com/abstract=3028057> accessed 21 August 2025
[16] US Code of Federal Regulations, title 28 § 115.42 (Prison Rape Elimination Act Standards) <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-28/part-115/section-115.42> accessed 19 August 2025
[17] California Legislature, Senate Bill No 132, The Transgender Respect, Agency, and Dignity Act, 2019–2020 Regular Session (approved 26 September 2020, effective 1 January 2021) <https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB132> accessed 21 August 2025.
[18] Ontario (Canada), ‘Provincial correctional institutions: transgender inmates’ (Backgrounder, 26 January 2015) <https://news.ontario.ca/en/backgrounder/34353/provincial-correctional-institutions-transgender-inmates> accessed 18 August 2025.
[19] UK Ministry of Justice/HMPPS, The Care and Management of Individuals Who Are Transgender—Policy Framework (updated 14 November 2024) <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-care-and-management-of-individuals-who-are-transgender> accessed 19 August 2025.
[20] UNODC, Handbook on Prisoners with Special Needs (2009) <https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/Prisoners-with-special-needs.pdf> accessed 19 August 2025.
[21] UNODC, UNAIDS, WHO, UNDP and PRI, Technical Brief: Transgender People and HIV in Prisons and Other Closed Settings (2022) <https://www.unodc.org/documents/hiv-aids/publications/Prisons_and_other_closed_settings/22-03088_Transgender_HIV_E_ebook.pdf> accessed 20 August 2025.
Shaimun Haque
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- Caged in a Third Gender: Hijra Lives Behind Bars Deserve More - September 13, 2025
