I would prefer to be dead than to live this way

Lived experiences of stigma and discrimination against khwaja sira in Swat, Pakistan

Datos Bibliográficos

ID7100175
AutoresAzhar (0000-0002-2249-8976, Hazara University, autor de correspondencia), Imtyaz Ahmad (Hazara University), Maria Mercedes Guzman Herrera (Fordham University), Tariq Nadeem (0000-0002-0104-5484, National University of Modern Languages), Nadeem Tariq (National University of Modern Languages), Riya Lerner (Fordham University)
Año2024
Volumen11
Páginase60-e60
Fecha de publicación2024-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCambridge Prisms Global Mental Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2054-4251 • E-ISSN: 2054-4251
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/gmh.2024.53
PMID38774887
OpenAlexW4396498458
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas60

Due to their identification as third gender people, khwaja sira have historically been subjected to experiences of social marginalization. However, the extant literature has not fully explored the lived experiences of stigma and discrimination against khwaja sira in the Swat Valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. To address this gap, we conducted 45 interviews with khwaja sira in Mingora, Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to better understand their experiences of gender-nonconformity stigma and discrimination in various social contexts, including within their families, in accessing health care, and within education and work contexts. Applying Minority Stress Theory and utilizing thematic content analysis, the present study identified three dimensions of gender-nonconformity stigma: (1) internalized stigma, namely feelings of shame and embarrassment; (2) perceived stigma, namely opinions others had of khwaja sira regarding lack of employability or engagement in sex work; and (3) enacted stigma, namely exclusion from families, in educational settings, in religious spaces, and in healthcare settings. Findings should inform future social intervention and community practice engagements with khwaja sira communities in Pakistan

Geography · Lived experience · Psychiatry · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · Stigma (botany · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Gender Studies · History · Psychology · South Asian Studies and Conflicts