First ever Hijra beauty contest held in city

The city for the first time witnessed a beauty contest of Hijras, who are biologically male but emotionally female, at the Goethe Institute Friday night, reports BSS. A total of 10 contestants took part in the exceptional beauty pageant enjoyed by a good number of local and foreign spectators at the institute in Dhanmondi, said co-host of the event Bandhu Social Welfare Society (BSWS) Saturday. A three-member panel of judges - noted dance performer Shamim Ara Nipa, a German national and a government official - selected three most beautiful Hijras based on their physical beauty and talents. Shimul Hijra won the title, while her two other cohorts Anonya and Shamima became runners up in the competition, covered by both electronic and print media. The generally socially excluded Hijra community has come to limelight in recent time after the government came forward to conduct a pilot study on the sexual-minority group and bring them in the mainstream of economy.