Thousands of Eunuchs to Meet [but whose yard? LOL]

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Thousands of Eunuchs to Meet

June 14, 2001 8:11 am EST

LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) - Thousands of eunuchs from across India are converging on a remote northern town for a national convention expected to seek ways of promoting their role in politics, organizers said Wednesday.

Eunuchs, called "hijras" in India, are mostly men castrated at puberty and are referred to as "she." The expression is broadly used for those classified as neither male nor female.

The convention, being held between June 20-29, will chart out an agenda for eunuchs including a more active role in politics.

Organizers said it would be attended by several high-profile eunuchs. They include Shabnam Mausi, a lawmaker in an Indian state, and two others who are mayors.

There is no official estimate of India's "hijra" population, but they are said to number around 500,000. They live mainly by collecting cash gifts from people on auspicious occasions, often by dancing to songs from Hindi movies.

Groups of eunuchs dressed in colorful saris with heavy make-up and jewelry often turn up uninvited at wedding parties and leave only after receiving generous cash donations.

The meeting will be held at Rath, 300 km (185 miles) south of Lucknow, the capital of India's Uttar Pradesh province.

Organizers said they chose the town as it was once ruled by a mythological king whose son was a eunuch.

-- Anonymous, June 16, 2001


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