This week we received a report that the Hijra Docu-Drama went into postproduction on Thursday.
There are many efforts to curb the abuse and trafficking of girls in India and very less or no attention paid to boys who are also vulnerable to sexual abuse and trafficking. The Hijra community consider themselves to be a third gender, neither man nor woman. There are thousands of Hijra in India. This community lives on the margins of society and is particularly vulnerable to exploitation, violence and discrimination. Therefore, it is difficult for HIjra to obtain employment beyond the entertainment and sex industry. Boy’s living within this community is of particular concern. They not only experience the violence associated with the sex industry, but are expected to participate in castration as a rite of passage.
This project is producing a docu-drama film on the vulnerability of boys who are commercially and sexually abused within the transgendered Hijra community in India. This docu-drama is intended to break the voluntary silence within mainstream culture related to the abuse of Hijra boys and their vulnerability to self-mutilation. The docu-drama will promote safe and rightful childhoods for boys at risk and those rescued from the sex industry.
We will continue to keep you updated as the film nears completion.