Transex extorting money from innocent citizens is not something new. But nowadays their behavior is changed. In the street, house to house, from all the shops of a selected street, they are just aggressively roaming to collect money from innocent citizens. They are virtually everywhere in Dhaka: on the rikshaws, in the streets, in the shopping areas, in the tiniest alleys. Their main and only purpose seem to be: collecting money, from anybody, anyhow.
If after stopping at a red traffic light, a group of transex catch a car with the idea of extort money from the passengers, there is no escape for them. If they try to protest or simply ignore, the issue can even degenerate in extremely embarrassing situations. For example they start insulting, cursing or using a very scandalous language which throw in extreme shame any honest citizen.
Sometime they also get in running bus and proceed extorting money from each passenger of the vehicle. If someone expresses his protest for the extortion, they start to touch the passenger on the body and even in intimate parts, while telling them scandalous words. This happen frequently also on trains, discouraging many honest citizens to use the rail travel for long distance journeys.
Many witnesses are telling that the money extortions from the transex in the streets of Dhaka became a daily experience for most of them, like something that will go to happen, nothing to do! In the opinion of many, the government must do IMMEDIATELY something to solve the problem of the transex of Bangladesh.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare last 2004 hold a census of the transex of Bangladesh, which shown an approximate population of 15,000 transex in the whole nation. But for the association of the transex of Bangladesh, their population only in Dhaka city would be actually 30,000.
Last 2013 the government officially recognized “transex” as a “third gender”. But transex claim that in the villages and in the other remote district of Bangladesh, they have to live in separate residence, segregated all together. For this reason many of them gradually leave for Dhaka, looking for better income chance. They confess they like living in Dhaka.
In the poorer area of the Capital, when they get news of the birth of a baby, they run to that house. They make believe the uneducated people that if a significant amount (unbearable especially for poorer families) is not provided them, the child will become deformed while growing up. Reportedly, they operate especially in Uttara, Rampura, Badda and Mirpur. Often they come at the 20th day of life of the child and try to extort up to 10,000 taka (around 100 euro) from the family. If money is not given, they start threat verbally and damage the dwelling of the family. Hardly is possible to get rid of them for less than 3,000 taka (around 30 euro).
Some representatives of the transex community explain that they have no other income way but extort money from the people all around. They are not able to have a job, so they come down in the streets looking for a chance. They furthermore explain that among them there are also “fake transex”, men just wearing women’s dress and using this disguising in order to scare the people and extort with less difficulty more money.
Whatever may be, Bangladesh is exhausted for transex harassment on honest citizens and the innocents call for justice.