Editing Eunuch (section)

===Indian subcontinent===
====Eunuchs in Indian sultanates (before the Mughals)====
Eunuchs were frequently employed in imperial palaces by some Muslim rulers as servants for female royalty, as guards of the royal harem, and as sexual mates for the nobles. Some of them attained high-status positions in society. An early example of such a high-ranking eunuch was [[Malik Kafur]]. Eunuchs in imperial palaces were organized in a hierarchy, often with a senior or Chief Eunuch ([[Urdu]]: ''Khwaja Saras''), directing junior eunuchs below him. Eunuchs were highly valued for their strength and trustworthiness, allowing them to live amongst women with fewer worries. This enabled eunuchs to serve as messengers, watchmen, attendants and guards for palaces. Often, eunuchs also doubled as part of the King's court of advisers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00urduhindilinks/txt_akbar_birbal.html|title=Akbar-Birbal Anecdotes|access-date=2 November 2008|archive-date=16 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516160237/http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00urduhindilinks/txt_akbar_birbal.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bharatvani.org/books/mssmi/ch9.htm|title=Ghilmans and Eunuchs|access-date=2 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227153331/http://www.bharatvani.org/books/mssmi/ch9.htm|archive-date=27 December 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====The hijra of South Asia====
{{Main|Hijra (South Asia)}}
[[File:Hidras of Panscheel Park-New Delhi-1994-2.jpg|thumb|[[Hijra (South Asia)|Hijras]] of Delhi, India]]

Hijra, a [[Hindi]] term traditionally translated into English as "eunuch", actually refers to what modern Westerners would call [[transvestites]] or [[transgender]] women (although some of them reportedly identify as belonging to a [[third gender]]). The history of this third sex is mentioned in the ancient ''[[Kama Sutra]]'', which refers to people of a "third sex" (''tritiya-prakriti'').<ref>{{cite web |title=Gender identity – Developing a statistical standard |url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/classifications/expertgroup/egm2015/ac289-Bk2.PDF |website=UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs – Statistics Department |publisher=United Nations |access-date=23 February 2020}}</ref> Some of them undergo ritual castration, but the vast majority do not.

They usually dress in [[sari]]s or [[shalwar kameez]] (traditional garbs worn by women in South Asia) and wear heavy make-up. They typically live on the margins of society and face discrimination.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ravaging the Vulnerable: Abuses Against Persons at High Risk of HIV Infection in Bangladesh |website=[[Human Rights Watch]] |date=August 20, 2003 |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/bangladesh0803/index.htm |access-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305164104/https://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/bangladesh0803/index.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.countercurrents.org/gen-narrain141003.htm |title=Being a Eunuch |last=Narrain |first=Siddarth |date=October 14, 2003 |website=Counter Currents |access-date=April 24, 2021}}</ref> Hijra tend to have few options for earning a wage, with many turning to sex work and others performing ritualistic songs and dances.<ref>{{cite journal| first=Jeff| last=Roy| date=2015|volume=20|journal=Ethnomusicology Review|title=The "Dancing Queens": Negotiating Hijra Pehchān from India's Streets onto the Global Stage |url= https://ethnomusicologyreview.ucla.edu/journal/volume/20/piece/872|access-date=2021-03-25}}</ref> They are integral to several Hindu ceremonies, such as dance programs at marriage ceremonies. They may also earn a living by going uninvited to large ceremonies such as weddings, births, new shop openings and other major family events, and singing until they are paid or given gifts to go away.<ref>{{cite news |first=Baldev |last=Chauhan |date=24 July 2003 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3092563.stm |title=Eunuchs 'cut off man's penis |website=BBC News |access-date=April 24, 2021}}</ref> The ceremony is supposed to bring good luck and fertility, while the curse of an unappeased hijra is feared by many. Hijra often engage in prostitution and begging to earn money, with begging typically accompanied by singing and dancing. Some Indian provincial officials have used the assistance of hijras to collect taxes in the same fashion—they knock on the doors of shopkeepers, while dancing and singing, embarrassing them into paying.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSDEL3025420061110 |title=Dancing eunuchs taxing red-faced shopkeepers. Reuters. November 10, 2006 |work=Reuters |date=10 November 2006 |access-date=6 November 2010}}</ref> Recently, hijras have started to found organizations to improve their social condition and fight discrimination, such as the [[Shemale]] Foundation Pakistan.