khwaja sira
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.82 in modern English
27
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A member of a traditional transfeminine third gender in Pakistan and India since Mughal times.
Example Sentences
- "That the discussion kept focusing on the sexual behavior of khwaja siras agitated a number of transgender activists, who were uncomfortable that these issues were being discussed in the presence of people who were not khwaja siras. […] Beena's response demonstrates the tendency of khwaja sira activists to represent themselves and their communities in a socially acceptable manner as respectable and religious people. She emphasized the conservatism[…]"
- "Funding that is targeting the Khwaja Sira community ought to go through Khwaja Sira organisations, she says, insisting on being more than a token for international NGOs that have little or no knowledge about the local conditions."
- "The individual and shared identity of khwaja siras is pivotal to studying why and how they are persecuted. According to Khan (2014a), there is no universally agreed upon definition for a khwaja sira, and the fluid term has a distinct trajectory of use in Pakistan. Transgender Pakistanis may use the term hijra to refer to themselves,[…]"
Etymology
Borrowed from Hindustani ख़्वाजा सिरा (xvājā sirā) / خواجہ سرا (xvāja sirā), ultimately partly from Classical Persian. Emphasizing the mismatch between their visible bodies (hazir) and the invisible soul (ruh), they presented the khwaja sira as a feminine soul that was stuck in a masculine body. In presenting this definition of their gender and seeking legitimacy for it, khwaja siras seek to define the distinctiveness of their soul. It is not just any feminine soul but one endowed with certain spiritual qualities.1
Word Breakdown
- Root: -