Thread by @seyyedreza

Adel Quraishi's, "Portraits of The Guardians" depicting the last generation of Ethiopian eunuchs to serve as key-holders of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina.

Since the 12th century, the keys have been entrusted exclusively to Abyssinian eunuchs.

rbkc.gov.uk/subsites/museu…

Saudi Arabia has said it will discontinue this centuries-old tradition, and today only 5 remain, down from 100.

I looked for an article to share about this but was shocked to see many ignore that the guardians are eunuchs, perhaps unsure what to make of this fact.

But eunuchs have a long and illustrious history in the Middle East, especially as emperors, generals, and guardians.

The eunuchs at the Prophet's Mosque in Medina are a testament to historically different norms of gender and sexuality, that came increasingly under attack as a result of European colonization.

Comparisons can be made to the situation of hijra/khwajasara in South Asia, for example, another example of a "third gender" community.

bbc.com/news/world-asi…

This article, The Effeminates of Early Medina by Everett K. Rowson, gives a good analysis of eunuchs' social role in Medina at the time of the Prophet

williamapercy.com/wiki/images/Th…

And theres some fascinating work done on "Khaneeth" in the Arabian Peninsula based on research in the 1970s, including the article: "Man Becomes Woman: Transsexualism in Oman as a Key to Gender Roles."

Some notes on those discussions here: ibraaz.org/essays/142

"Xaniths are more respected as a maritime identity belonging to the water, not the land. Then, can we also propose crossovers and convergences between the xanith, the hijras of the subcontinent and Thailand's so-called lady-boys?"