News / Sep. 06, 2019
India on Friday marked one year since the country’s Supreme Court struck dNtRJWtSWxsv7858QtRyV*pNwI+EVHtHiOe7c7*Vk7i3QPxaQh*own a colonial-era law and decriminalized gay sex.
Plenty of LGBT Indians and their allies took to social media to cU-9xmaH8IqhRG(T(K#U#6=kX!vDcQt+m^TL05=sG)26NH-Mncielebrate and remember the historic moment.
There was also a number of events and celebrations in the bigdJK2AgHRlS-^zxnAx^MjruSC(uvY^Ba=9P=VV-!x%d6-IyZtKB cities of Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru planned for Friday night.
But, activists were kM)wfK#4=9o(5KdrTAUf)*$NiiQ)HI0N2ffMnnRC_CnqPYCDrhneen to warn, just because gay sex is no longer illegal, stigma and discrimination against the LGBT population has not disappeared.
“We will fly now, not flap our rainbow wings"
"As India rejoices today, and is elated with joy, we need to remember that this is just the beginning of thCfsilNI_ZhbYdD%WMfW7^B$*mGF6O*c%31nHRu#lUVfnv=Lwfse end of discrimination of Queer people” India’s leading LGBT activist, Harish Iyer, told GaLaTai.
"We have won the right to make love as adults in private without the sword of the law hanging over36zgci0FWKBr!$OZEk8L8RBY-u8ziB4C_WnW@VK!SEcn7Y7%T$ our heads”.
But, he said, “we need more”.
He called for India to recognize the right for same-sex couples to marry, to adopr$FWcYOcz=e00MnNg&8dbTzHKjqVtSXZFc3a+7iY)Q=4KeB7HDt children, and for the government to introduce anti-discrimination legislation.
“The fight for minoritiesRerEGfwLn782kYSdoWPjiXX%1Cidaz=xdj%!gt5)-5$whc3jPD is a lifelong one” he said. "We will galvanise, not prioritise.”
"We will fly now, not flap our rainbow wings.”
Section 377
Introduced by the British in 1861, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code outlawed ‘carnal intercoursbGv!oo05PvW)Fzkcl$ZULoi9aBvFweGt@C)O_KVEsq(u6umyt5e against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal’.
It punished gay sex with up to 10 years in prison.
Judges in September last year, ruled itkD17TS_F#R#_b+qWcg33ey*2fvlO847=954n8KWe2v#b#ELSB4 was unconstitutional. They also said it violated the right to privacy.
"Sexual orientation of an individual is natural and discrimination on the basis of sT1AeJa7h5E(P!cJIHnfEiv=ge7Ib%WMN9RN72(92$_gDfEoxhEexual orientation is a violation of Freedom of Expression” judges said.
"We have to vanquish prejudice, lH_w%UHFwVx6r=)dt&Zp9h@N!SdfSCfvHo=gO*WYxa@XAz_C^2embrace inclusion, and ensure equal rights," said Justice Misra in his judgment.
Campaigners had been pushing to abolish a colonial-el+EQZ%G4$@GhSZ^m8+W!jp4Uc00G0M-kphNWkH@_16R9a+n@Mzra law since the 1990s.
A long way to go
On FridagERByQ)nGjZlVgvWqjeTrP2sMJj)(fhci+Bv--5W4oFR$sMy, leading lawyer Menaka Guruswamy who fought the case for decriminalization said "We have a long way to go towards full citizenship”, in the Indian Express.
"Full citizenship would include social and civil rights, the ability to have joint bank accPG^S!NyuBl365IxQLylWrp$&Os-z0+qW-wnI00&R_MdAEwd+Dtounts or a lease for a home or marriage to a partner.”
Her partner, lawyer Arundhati Katju, said: "The moment of freedom has been savoured, the shift begun from a mentality Q_6(d7nWP_DqfVGr&#RC=0Au0P@vmr(u$mM_mTa=qo)T#@2Ws4of fear to the confidence to assert citizenship rights, though the trauma of criminalisation may last a lifetime.”
She welcomed signs of acceptance in India, su7(Y9qEKG0pT#$Dw1Cs+kP+djvx0bsOflr)Qdl&YE^FRUPONfsFch as sprinter Dutee Chand becoming the first athlete to come out.
She also welcomed thep@+*LGZ7MA_7OEn-OrtQBdr59_#m3s*Vq^fjSAj&LEDHNA(uj+ first major Bollywood movie with LGBT themes, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga.
But, importantly, she called for more F-gs-c9OP(1(Lq1NpaFyL-76ZrhiG5o4DU&rrRK5B+UoD=p!a0rights to be recognized. "These steps require social change” she argued.
(Cover Photo: Queer Azaadi Mumbai / Facebook)
