Disasters and the “Other” Gender: Violence in the Everyday Lives of Hijras and Their Experiences of Disasters in India

In disaster scholarship, researchers have always been debating on what a disaster is? For some hijras living on the eastern coast of India in Puri, disasters are a representation and extension of their everyday lives. The Hijra community (oldest known non-binary group in India) is one of many non-binary groups in South Asia that have faced the consequences of the conventional understanding of gender, tied to “bodies”, their biological traits and social roles. This Western understanding often overlooks the contextual realities across different societies and been imposed on rest of the world. The synonymous use of “gender” and “women” have resulted in normative policies and frameworks that excludes many gender diverse groups. Disaster studies is no different which has been dominated by the binary understanding of gender.

Clubbed under the category of the “Other”, hijras in the present day, post-colonial context face different forms of violence – physical, mental, symbolic, structural – in their everyday lives right from very young ages. This results in their limited access to education, health services, safe shelter, public programs, employment, ultimately making them highly vulnerable to hazards in the region. This was visible once again when Cyclone Fani hit the eastern coast of India in 2019. These groups were affected differentially because of their existing vulnerabilities, which exacerbated during this time, with very limited resources to cope. However, this did not stop them from showing their agency as they contributed to relief processes. Learning from these lived experiences, this qualitative research set in Odisha, India, explores disasters from a queer theory viewpoint and social constructivism, their capacities, and challenges, through a critical ethnography approach. This research questions the creation of “categories” and “labels” of the “vulnerable” to explore gendered bodies, othering, hybrid identities, power, control, and their ability to negotiate with dominant groups.