“I am the love that dare not speak its name” LGBT rights and INDIA By Nainan Chopra FMC, Level 2
contents 1. Acknowledgements 2. Introduction 3. History of LGBT 5. LGBT Problems faced today 6. LGBT activists 7. Reforms Required (lobbying plan)
acknowledgements
I would like to thank Mr Ankit Gupta, Junior Programme Associate at Trisha; Mr Apurv Jain, the head of the Delhi University Gender forum; Shambhavi Saxena, an activist with Greenpeace taking part in this cause very actively; Ketaki Prabha, a student of Delhi University and member of their gender forum for gu, for their comments and their information. Also, a big thankyou to Mrs Meha Jaiswal for her support and guidance in the subject.  
Introdcution
The biggest struggle for us since the inception of ‘societies’ has been acceptance; acceptance of who we are, where we come from, and what we stand for. What the laws of society did in the name of social stratification mirrored again into the degraded treatment of women and now this society frowns upon homosexuality.
It has been over two decades since the adaptation of the term ‘LGBT’ and yet a large chunk of our mass is ignorant to this demographic and their basic rights. The Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender community has been fighting for their cause for the longest time. Even though sexual unions of the same gender have been legalised in most countries, many countries still list it as illegal. However the greatest loss for this community is the denial to allow two people of the same gender to marry. In all honesty, the problem here is the lack of knowledge and discussion of this topic.
History of lgbt 1924 marked with it the inception of the first recognised gay-rights organisation in Chicago, USA. This organisation being the very first of its kind kick started the revolution for the homosexual community
social People falling under the category of LGBT have existed throughout history but what has been inconsistent is the way people perceive them. The development of this as a cultural movement can be seen as a result of urbanisation. Since Urbanisation required people to move into the large cities to be engaged in waged labour, it helped people with homosexual tendencies to explore this side of them. But with the prominent emergance of this sub-culture laws were regulated that illegalised every simple act of affection with two people of the same gender. So much so, that if one declared publically that they are gay/lesbian, they would be admitted in a mental instituition without a hearing.
The stonewall riots-
In the 1969s, it was a part of protocol for the police to raid gay bars. Since, back then, serving alcohol to homosexuals and homosexuals dancing with one another, both were illegal. People engaging in any such activity were arrested. One such raid was undertaken at the Stonewall Inn at New York City. On this particular day, the police arrested everyone in question and were behaving rather violently. While this was going on inside the Inn, an increasing mob of people gathered outside to show their support against the police. The police kept getting more and more hostile with their behaviour which led the crowd to take matter into their hands.
They started to throw beer bottles, pennies and later bricks at the police wagon. Outnumbered by a very angry and violent mob, the police officers barricaded themselves inside the Inn. The crowd eventually stopped when back up police was called for. They ultimately arrested 13 people and 4 police officers were injured. The news of this riot became widespread and led to 2 more riots on the consecutive nights. This day is celebrated as the gay pride parade ever since. It holds a great amount of importance in revolutionising their cause and rights. Those representing the LGBT community walk with rainbow coloured flags and signs declaring their homosexuality- a way to show their stand against the discrimination of the LGBT society. This struggle has been harder of women homosexuals than men, especially when historically speaking. Men had greater economic independence than women and it was therefore easier for them. Their situation improved with the onset of the war since they were now engaged within the armed as well as civilian workforces.
result in a few places. The slight visibility that the gay community did start to gather led to the firing of gay civil servants and demotion of gay soldiers. By the mid 1900s gay political organisations had mushroomed well into the society. In 1977 Harvey Milk, an openly gay man, was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. His popularity had grown in the 1972 when he challenged the leaders of the gay community and said that their approach was too conservative in its attempts to gain greater political rights. This rise in gay activism found itself a strong opposition in the form of a group called ‘save our children’. Led by the runner up of Miss America 1959, Anita Bryant, this group shunned everything the gays had to say and mostly recounted that it is of utmost importance to stop this LGBT community before they convince their children that a homosexual way of living is perfectly normal. Milk was assassinated in the year following his election but is till date one of the most important figures in the gay-liberation movement.
Left: Policemen holding back homosexuals at Stonewall Inn Bottom: The headlines in New York Times following the stonewall riot
political From 1900-1920, these two decades marked the start of many gay interest groups in America as well as in Europe, for example, British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology, Society for Human Rights, and Institute for Sexual Science (Institut für Sexualwissenschaft). Germany especially saw a rise in instituites that specialised in samesex research. All of them working in their way to reach the same goal. However, these groups could not gain too much attention to their political activities. It had, in fact an opposite
On May 29th 1979, ex-cop Dan White was charged as guilty for murdering two leaders, one being Harvey Milk. He was punished with a sentence of 7 years in jail. A rulinf that would have normally led to a death sentence was lenient with White because of the ‘special circumstances’ that declared Milk to be of dimished capacity. This shocked the gay community of the country deeply and led to the white night riots. They disrupted traffic, set fires and marched into city hall.
Top: The crowd marching into the stonewall Inn Right: Th first Gay Pride Parade, 1970 Bottom: Harvey Milk at a Gay Pride
LGBT problems faced today
1
Violence Nearly one out of every seven LGBT person is reported to have faced homophobic violence. The LGBT youth of the country face verbal abuse most of the time followed by a physical assault leading to a fear instilled in many of them. They don’t feel comfortable going from one place to another in their own colonies due to the harassment that may follow. Their fears may not be relevant each time but just the fact that it exists so prominently is bad enough. There have been cases reported where people face public humiliation and harassment because of offensive graffitis and rumours.
2
Accommodation in the society Most of the Indians believe that homosexuality is unnatural. According to a survey, 90% of Indians would not rent out their houses to gay or lesbian couples. Most gay/lesbian couples don’t introduce their partners to their families out of the fear of being disowned and cut off by them.
3
Equal legal rights Allowing two people to marry is a general right that shouldn’t prohibited to any two people. Marriage is a very important and simple milestone that every relationship has a right to enter into. It is not a special privilege. So when two people of the same gender are not allowed to marry, that is an act of inequality and injustice. When something as simple as ‘permission to marry’ seems like an unattainable task for a large demographic, there is something very wrong with society and it’s norms. This disparity in legal reforms also makes the LGBT an easy target of harassment. Legal anowl
edgement of this group of people would lead to a much needed security net for homosexuals.
4
The religious counter-movement In a country with religions as diverse as ours, there is one thing they all unite under- their disapproval of LGBT rights. They all shun this lifestyle as immoral and unnatural. They have been quoted saying that homosexuality is a result of an evil exported from the west. When religious figures with such an immense influence of their communities talk about homosexuality like it’s a disease, the people listen and then echo this ideology, even though they do not know much about it.
Top: A protestor during the Section 377 ruling
5
Homophobia The fear of homosexuality is widespread in our country. People are not willing to accept this lifestyle of people resulting in discrimination on a large scale. SO much so that there have been cases of corrupt police officers threatening homosexuals a way to extort money from them.
It is people’s pre conceived notions and their refusal to discuss this topic at large that has led to the mass antagonism of this topic. The elders who believe that this is unnatural and unconventional don’t realise that in actuality they are in fact lobbying for an idea planted into our lifestyles by the British colonials who “banned homosexuality and other such unnatural sexual acts.” Across the cultures and scriptures of our ancients, homosexuality was considered as a way of life and a very naturally occurring lifestyle. In those days, one wouldn’t find a special interest group for the LGBT, they were in fact a party of the community- the way things should be. Those who see homosexuality as the breeder for HIV AIDS are being misled. AIDS is a disease caused by a virus and not by a ‘genetic defect’ or a lifestyle choice. Homosexual intercourse is as prone to AIDS as heterosexual intercourse. Therefore, all of our problems stem from one particular cause- lack of information.
lgbt activists A conversation with Apurv Jain, instrumental in the Delhi University Gender Forum, revealed that inspite of the need and a legislation almost underway, this issue is not able to catch the momentum that it should.NGOs and special interest groups are trying to work on this situation at hand with a lot of force and conviction. The enthusiasm they hold, however, is not echoed by the society or the law makers. Even those who are sensitive to this demographics’ needs are very lethargic when it comes to taking action. “The classroom is a place where things need to be discussed by teachers. But people make it such a taboo to do so outside the classrooms that it can not reach into it.” The Delhi University Gender Forum. They go from campus to campus raising topics that need to be raised and creating general and basic awareness. They organise talks on the different sexual minorities and try to help out to those who belong to these minorities as well as reach out to those who need help understanding these minorities. They are
now in the process of printing 5 booklets on 5 different topics related to LGBT. People come out and talk about the problems they face and engage in a rather educative conversation with the audience. This two-way interaction they have at these events has proved that no one is really aware about LGBT, sex education is incomplete and all that people know about this form of lifestyle is that two men/women adorn the role of a man and woman, which is another misleading interpretation. Ankit Gupta, Junior programme associate at an NGO called Tarshi agrees with what Apurv Jain had to say. “While organising different campaigns, the highest priority is given to the safety aspect of it all,” says Ankit who has organised innumerable talks and campaigns pertaining to LGBT movement (and others as well). Procuring police permissions and safety is very important at these events because of the behaviour that the LGBT community has been made to face in the past. They also double check the venue
A moment from the Gay Pride Parade Delhi, 2011
of every event. This imposes a lot of restrictions on this interest group and doesn’t allow it the mobility it needs. Ankit also had to say that, “LGBT gets sidelined under other issues that are being brought into light.” Because of this, it’s almost like the LGBT have stagnated at the very beginning of their revolution in India. Shambhavi Saxena an activist supporting and organising LGBT campaigns said “The problem is, that those who finally do get up and take a stand are faced with threats from political groups such as the Shiv Sena. That also discourages the general population from taking effective charge of this situation.” She adds, “Lobbying for this cause is no easy task. People have their notions in place as though they aren’t going anywhere. Our bigger campaigns are yet to be taken out because right now we’re still looking at spreading our LGBT community more and garnering more support.”
A queer couple at the Gay Pride Parade, 2011
The only place the LGBT community is missing out on is the the fact that it’s not clear to people what LGBT really is. Education of this aspect is very ipmortant and the only answer to overcoming the disparities faced. The start of it, anyway.
Reforms required Another one from the Gay Pride Prade, 2012
When we face an issue at home, with friends or across borders, the first thing we do is talk about it. Communication is the most effective form of resolving issues and getting one’s point across. It is only after understands and empathises with the other party will they be able to make decisions that are truly just and neutral. That’s all that we the LGBTians are asking for- a chance to be heard, and to communicate our side of the story to the rest of the world. LGBTians will a group of people who will edorse the idea of individuality. Whether it is through homosexuality, heterosexuality, or anything else that one might want to be. It will be a group that will allow two way interaction on this topic of sexuality. They will spread knowledge regarding the topic of LGBT and also be a group that anyone can approach with thier doubts about this topic. Our goal is one thingthe spread knowledge as far and wide as we possibly can about LGBT and erradicate myths pertaining to this topic. ents perpetuate onto their children. Therefore, such talks would keep the children’s open mindedness intact. The actions The LGBTians will be proposing are:
•Talks in schools For talks in schools to be effectively put up with students, there first needs to be a platform where we, The LGBTians, will interact with teachers and educate them about homosexuality and its myths. Once those moulding the young minds of our country are convinced, we are definitely a step closer. Then within the same institutions talks need to be conducted for the students. This would be effective as those who have doubts about this lifestyle can clear them out right before those doubts can be changed into rigid mind sets; and those who think they might belong to the queer community can approach a mentor and shed their inhibitions. A group undertook an activity in the US where they asked children to react to a man proposing to a man and a woman to a woman. All of the children had a positive reaction to allowing such a union and didn’t understand why it was illegal to let two people who love each other to marry. Gender stereotypes are a result of what par
•A social media movement We are all well aware of the power social media holds today. The LGBTians will make the most of this luxury sites like facebook and twitter provide us with and reach out to the existing supports of this cause. This way, one would be strengthening the ties of this community, enabling the spread of this movement. •Censorship The infamous Indian Censorship board makes it a point to censor every little detail they can. So why don’t we add the ridiculing of LGBT characters in movies to this list. In Indian cinema, more often than not you will find homosexual characters as the comic relief of the movies. A few people believe that even this negative publicity is good, but such would be the case if we were living in a society that openly accepted homosexuality. This ridiculing of homosexuality only adds fuel to the anti-queer fire. •Lobbying for political reforms Even though the revoking of homosexual intercourse is a reform that happened, it is not nearly enough. Committees need to be set up that look into the welfare of this demographic and come up with policies that allow unions of the same gender, to begin with. Top: An image of the heterosexuals showing their support at the Gay Pride Parade. Right: Suppoters taking to the streets at a parade organised by the students in Delhi
CONCLUSION
This cause and its demographic is facing problems in the most basic aspects of life. Allowing a marriage, extending acceptance, allowing yourself to be exactly who you are. These are things no one should have to face, at least not after a few-hundred years into civilisation. All they want is to be allowed the freedom to live as the rest of us do and not wait for the world’s consent to be who they want to be. Gay rights demonstration, 1976
In India especially, the stigma created around words like ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian’ can only leave a person very disturbed. The LGBT helpline more often than not gets panicked phone calls asking, “I’m a woman who likes women, can I be cured?” There is nothing more unjust than a person having to question their true self because of what a few people have to say about it, especially when these few people are so wrongly educated about the topic. Existing and ongoing campaigns do not have the desired effect, not by a long shot. Even though things got slightly better after the law struck down, it has been contested whose ruling is awaited to decide the destiny of a large group of people whom a lot wrong has already been done to. Now it is not only about allowing two people of the same gender to be together but also about protecting the citizens of a country against harassment and unfair treatment. It is therefore, most important right now to spread the word and educated the world about the truths of this lifestyle. Because it’s not just allowing to people to be together but also about basic human rights being unfair distributed in the 21st century.
BIBLIOGRAPHY • Apoorva Dutta. (2013). India gets it's first LGBT helpline. Available: http://www. firstpost.com/living/sahaay-india-gets-its-first-24x7-lgbt-helpline-1186905.html. Last accessed 10th Nov @013. • Paramita Ghosh. (2013). Life without benefits for India’s gay couples.Available: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/life-without-benefits-for-india-s-gay-couples/ article1-1038699.aspx. Last accessed 10 nov 2013. • Salil tripathi. (2013). Long battle for gay rights. Available: http://www.livemint.com/ Opinion/L0SH2qz5SBkcIkcVoPFbhL/Long-battle-for-gay-rights.html. Last accessed 10th nov 2013. • Nilanjana Bhowmick. (2013). Will India Stand Up for Gay Rights?.Available: http:// world.time.com/2012/02/29/will-india-stand-up-for-gay-rights/. Last accessed 10 nov 2013. • Erin Higgings. (2013). India launches first LGBT community radio station. Available: http://dot429.com/articles/3020-india-launches-first-lgbt-community-radio-station. Last accessed 10 nov 2013 • Atish Patel. (2012). Indian society struggling with gay rights: activist.Available: http:// www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/10/us-india-gay-activist-idUSBRE8490PO20120510. Last accessed 10 nov 2013.