- There are the winds of change sweeping across the universe on matters concerning the LGBTQIA+ community that must warm the cockles of activists promoting the natural acceptance of this entity which has faced tremendous backlash, ridicule, embarrassment, and sneer from every corner. Despite making unimaginable progress on the technology front making our life more pleasant, this particular community continues to face society’s opposition/wrath with acceptance coming at a great cost. Mind you, since times immemorial, gays and lesbians have always been part of society but had to encounter a mixture of liberal acceptance during the early years of evolution and subsequent years of conventional outlook in the interim.
PC: CJP
- Unfortunately, the so-called present-day modern world is still inhabited by a typically conservative society not prepared to accept gays and lesbians into the mainstream. The mindset hasn’t changed one bit. People representing this community are subject to tremendous societal persecution leading to existential challenges. It’s glad to note some changes are happening on the ground with the acceptance this community is slowly gaining ground. As Thailand becomes the third Asian nation to legalize same-sex marriage – pending senate and royal endorsement – it’s an occasion to examine the lengthening distance India must cover. Basic individual freedoms to love and marry as we like are now being begrudged by political and legal establishments.
- Further, family law is being weaponized, to curb rather than guarantee liberty. We know that homosexuality was decriminalized six years ago. But last year, SC refused to extend the Special Marriage Act to all citizens, irrespective of their sexual orientation. As is its wont, GOI invoked the Indian family unit. But marriage equality petitioners were not seeking religious or social validation – only recognition of legal coupledom. That’s not all. India remains a shameful exception among democracies for refusing to criminalise marital rape, unless spouses are separated, or the wife is a minor. We have civil remedies but refuse to see the crime for what it is.
PC: Bloomberg
- All women, whatever their circumstances or personalities, are the sole owners of their bodies, and are rights-bearing citizens. Marriage does not make consent irrelevant. The stubborn patriarchal reflex is that a man is entitled to his wife’s body, that marriage can be a torture chamber but remains his private dominion, and that the harm of rape is shame and dishonor rather than assault. Societal thinking hasn’t changed much even though the world is witnessing a shift. To be called a truly advanced and liberal society, we must start accepting any romantic partnerships including same-sex ones as a natural phenomenon. The state’s looming shadow on the intimate lives of Indians is one of India’s great, and continuing, tragedies. This must change.
