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Members of Bangladesh's transgender Hijra neighborhood, who weren’t allowed to attend different prayer providers, have been welcomed into a brand new mosque within the Muslim-majority nation with the promise of having the ability to worship with out discrimination.
The easy construction, a one-room shed with partitions and a tin roof, is a brand new neighborhood middle for minorities, who’ve gained extra authorized and political recognition in recent times however nonetheless undergo prejudice.
The mosque on the banks of the Brahmaputra River, close to Mymensingh, north of the capital Dhaka, was constructed on land donated by the federal government after the town's hijra neighborhood was expelled from a longtime congregation.
“I by no means dreamed I’d have the ability to pray in a mosque once more in my lifetime,” mentioned Sonia, 42, who liked studying the Quran as a baby and attended an Islamic seminary.
However when she got here out as a hijra, as transgender individuals are generally recognized in South Asia, she was barred from praying at a mosque.
“Folks used to say to us: 'Why are you hijras right here in mosques? It’s best to pray at house. Don't come to mosques,'” mentioned Sonia, who makes use of just one identify.
He mentioned, “It was embarrassing for us, so we didn't go.” “Now, that is our mosque. Now, nobody can say 'no'.
Hijras have obtained rising authorized recognition in Bangladesh, which has allowed members of the neighborhood to formally establish as a 3rd gender since 2013. A number of folks have entered Bangladeshi politics, together with a transgender lady elected mayor of a rural city in 2021.
However they nonetheless wrestle for primary recognition and acceptance and lack property and marriage rights. They’re additionally usually discriminated in opposition to in employment and usually tend to be victims of violent crime and poverty than the common Bangladeshi.
Radical Islamic teams have criticized the popularity of transgender Bangladeshis at school textbooks and have held rallies demanding the federal government drop strain to incorporate them within the curriculum.
Mufti Abdur Rehman Azad, founding father of Hijra Charity, mentioned the brand new mosque is the primary of its variety within the nation.
Plans for the same effort in one other metropolis had been halted final month after protests by locals, he mentioned.
Dozens of native eunuchs donated money and time to construct the South Char Kalibari Masjid for the third gender, which opened this month.
It additionally has a cemetery, after final 12 months an area Muslim cemetery refused to bury a member of the neighborhood.
The mosque's imam, Abdul Motaleb, 65, mentioned the persecution of the Hijra neighborhood goes in opposition to the teachings of their religion. He mentioned, “They’re like some other folks created by Allah.”
“We’re all human beings. Some could also be males, some could also be ladies, however all are human beings. Allah revealed the Holy Quran to everybody, so everybody has the best to hope, nobody could be disadvantaged of it.”
The brand new mosque is already coping with prejudice. Native Tofazzal Hussain, 53, has provided Friday prayers there for the second consecutive week.
He mentioned that dwelling and praying with the Hijra neighborhood had modified his “misconceptions” about them. They reside correctly like different Muslims,” he mentioned.