Regardless of one’s station in life, the Language Martyr’s Day on February 21 resonates with each and every Bangladeshi.
People come out in droves to pay their respects at the Shaheed Minar, and one of the most discriminated minorities in our country, members of the transgender community, or the Hijras as they traditionally call themselves, are no different.
Over two hundred people from the Hijra community paid tribute to the martyrs of the historic 1952 Language Movement in the early hours of Wednesday.
A Hijra leader from Wari Thana unit, Kajal said: “We gathered a huge number of our community for the first time to pay tribute to our martyred brothers during the language movement.
“We did not let any media know because we do not want the attention. We just want to pay respect to the martyrs.”
They came to the Dhaka University campus before midnight on Tuesday through Shahbag check post and paraded through important landmarks at the campus with law enforces.
Walking up toward the Shaheed Minar, Hijra community leaders spoke to the Dhaka Tribune. They held a banner that said “The Central Committee of Hijra Welfare Foundation”. At least 13 committees from different areas took part in paying homage on Wednesday.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
