What legal and safety rights do hijra and kothi people actually have where I live?

This depends entirely on where you are—there's no single answer for South Asia or anywhere else. In India, hijra have been recognized in some legal contexts (census, identity documents, voter registration in certain states), but access is inconsistent and protection from discrimination is weak. In Bangladesh, legal recognition is more limited. Pakistan's laws remain restrictive. What this means practically: you might legally exist in one context and be invisible or criminalized in another. Know your specific location's laws around identity documents, employment discrimination, and what counts as harassment or violence. Connect with local organizations—they track these changes and often help with documentation. Sor Juana operated in a system that didn't officially recognize her intellectual authority either; she worked around it, documented everything, and built networks of people who did see her. Do similarly: understand the law, know your rights, build community, keep records of harm, and find lawyers or advocates ahead of time if possible. Your safety comes first—sometimes that means strategic visibility, sometimes privacy. That's not compromise; that's intelligence.