ED 262 mylineONLINE: Gender, Sexism, & Sexual Orientations

From an outsider's perspective, cultures are often hard to pin down. This became clear again when trying to comprehend Pakistan's third gender community. Not to be confused with the more modern transgender community, the third gender - or Khawaja Sira - is manifested in the traditional roots of Islam. It seems like a religiously accepted mode of existing to transcend gender. Because Khawaja Sira falls under the precepts of Islam, it is therefore tolerated but not necessarily embraced. What is interesting is that because there are rules and traditional codes outlining how a Muslim can be Khawaja Sira, there a good deal of hostility towards the modern Western notion of transgender - referring more to a person who "transitions" from the gender of their birth to a gender they more strongly identify with. One would think that Pakistan's third gender community would be more open and understanding of the West's transgender movement. This is not the case. When a Westerner is traveling in Pakistan and notices a third gender option, the person should not assume Pakistan is a bastion for liberal-minded progressives. Instead, Pakistan is just being Pakistan. 

A topic to discuss. People who don't agree with the beliefs or rights of people in the LGBTQ community will talk about how this is a new issue. That it is the new generation that is creating these ideas.  But multiple genders and sexualities have been around for hundreds of years in many different ways. There are Native American tribes whose people had "two-spirits". Those people fulfilled the third gender ceremonial roles for their communities. In this story, they discuss Khawaja siras are "God's chosen people", the third gender people who can bless or curse anyone. But "God's chosen people" are also greatly discriminated against in society. You see the contradictions that society puts on people who don't conform to what is supposedly right.

The gang violence in El Salvador is insane. Not only that but the level of control the  gangs have over the country is nearly unrivaled anywhere else in the world. These young girls find themselves in the crossfire of this violence. Too many there only option is to join, or hide away. Some take the daring plan of escaping to America but many dont have the means to attempt this. The government in El Salvador needs to do a gang crack down and patrol communities more to make them safer, this is only possible if they can shrug off corruption first. 

There’s a scary epidemic occurring all over Latin America and El Salvador is one of the worst areas for girls and women. The major threat to girls lives are gangs. The gangs cause so much danger that a person is murdered there every hour. Unfortunately the feuds are over turf and revenge and the girls get caught in the middle. Girls can get killed because the refuse to be someone’s girlfriend or do not do something for the gang. These girls disappear and are scared into hiding in there homes or fleeing to the United States. If a young girl makes it past her fifth tenth birthdat its a miracle.