Laxmi and many others Hijras are third genders in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. There are approximately half a million hijras who live in these countries.

Most people who are hijras come from a working-class or lower-class backgrounds. As children they were bullied and some families were ashamed of them. Hijras are also victims of hate crimes. Some hijras are sex workers.

If a Hijras goes through the castration ritual they gain higher respect and is believed to give power to

confer fertility on couples. And there is peer pressure to get castrated. But not every hijra does it or can do it. Most hijras are poor and can't afford to have surgery, they see to their guru's for castration which is a non authorized medical practitioner and it is life-threatening and some die. They go through a lot of pain and this is why they are considered to be godlike.

Hijras has faced issues. Like getting employed and getting basic medial care.

The two stories of Saikat and Anushri was big. Saikat was a transgender patient who didn't get treatment after a train accident because the doctors didn't know if she should be admitted as a male or female and she died. Anushri was gang-raped by several men, she was denied anti-HIV medication because she was a transgender. These stories impacted the society and facing discrimination. Hijras people are at risk.

In 2014 a bill was drafted for the Right for Transgender Persons Bill and it was passed in 2016 for the Hijra community to be protected.

The word Hijra is a Hundustani word. It means they are born male with only a few having been born with intersex varations.

Hijras are often born male but look and dress in traditionally feminine ways.

    Laxmi Narayan Tripathi is a transgender and a rights activist, bollywood actress, dancer, choreographer and motivational speaker in Mumbai, Inda. She is the first transgender person to represent Asia and the UN. She spoke at the assembly of the plight of sexual minorities in 2008 at the UN. She is the oldest and when she was born she was assigned as a male. She completed her school and acquired an arts degree form Mithibai college and postgraduate degree in Bharatanatyam. She starred in several dance videos and also became a choreographer. She served on the boards of several NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) which conducted LGBT activist work. She became the president of NGO. She started her own organization to promote the welfare of sexual minorities. She went to Toronto, Canada for an Asia Pacific sex workers network. Her passport stated her as a female transgender. 

During a press conference Laxmi came in with full makeup and women’s clothing. Her parents were there and found out about her association with the hijra community. They were shocked to see her like that as they were looking into marriage proposals. Her father was asked about his thoughts of his child's sexuality, he has a good response by saying “if my child was handicapped, would you even ask me whether i’d have asked him to leave home? And just because his sexual orientation is different.” He stuck up for his child, and that is great especially in their culture. In April 2014, Indian Supreme Court recognized transgender rights and recognized them as a third gender. Laxmi and a legal agency petitioned the court to recognize transgender as a third category on all documents. The  courts have ordered the government to provide quotas in jobs and education similar to the ones for other minority groups in India. Governments were also ordered by apex courts to construct third washrooms and create health departments to care for transsexual medical needs. They will also be entitled to adopt children and, after sex reassignment surgery, identify with their gender. Laxmi gave a lot of interviews and was popular with the media. She also appeared in many TV shows. She started in a show called Sach Ka Samna, it was the first show with a transgender on TV and with her parents she has an open conversation with them about hijras. She was in an award-winning documentary and and award-winning Bollywood movie. She also co-wrote her biography. She has adopted two children and is engaged to an Indian trans man who is a bodybuilder. 

Hijras believed in Hindu mythology. And their gender fluidity mirrors and androgynous gods. Their god Shiva is sometimes portrayed as half male and half female. There is an ancient Indian text Kama Sutra which is an ancient Indian Hindu Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment. It is also described as the third gender or third nature.