The LGBT community in India.
By: Simran Martha
Tags: LGBTQ, Discrimination, Equality, Human Rights

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender. The whole objective of Human Rights is to treat all human beings as equal under the protection of the Constitution. Anything that undermines the dignity of an individual is a violation of the principle of equality and further leads to discrimination.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Over the past decade, LGBT people have gained more and more tolerance and acceptance in India, especially in large cities. However, most LGBT people in India remain closeted, fearing discrimination from their families. LGBT people often face rejection from their families and are forced into opposite-sex marriages.

The picture is still very much bleak for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth in India. Many face harassment and bullying, and to avoid humiliation and violence they often skip classes or drop out of school altogether. People in the LGBT community are fighting for equal rights and acceptance. Trans people, especially, face a lot of difficulty in finding acceptance. The LGBT community is looked down upon all the time.

Court judgments in recent years have laid the groundwork for better protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and the Indian government’s stance on LGBT rights has evolved considerably. But it does not necessarily mean that LGBT people in India are fully free or perceived as equal among their fellow citizens. It underscores how much work remains to be done in India and the rest of the world to overturn antiquated and repressive anti-gay laws.

The preamble to the Indian Constitution mandates social, economic, and political equality of status for all. The right of equality before the law and equal protection under the law is guaranteed in Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash

In April 2014, the Supreme Court of India ruled in NALSA vs Union of India that the rights and freedoms of transgender people in India were protected under the Constitution.

In September 2018, the Supreme Court also decriminalized adult consensual same-sex relationships in the Section 377 judgment review.

These judgments are considered a landmark both in terms of their expansive reading of constitutional rights and in empowering LGBT persons. Both judgments not only reversed a relic of British imperial rule but also ordered that LGBT Indians be accorded all the protections of their constitution. But while legal changes are an important step, much more is needed for LGBT people in India to be able to live without discrimination and with dignity.

Young people who are bullied in school are less likely to succeed and more likely to find themselves vulnerable to discrimination and violence as adults. UNESCO surveyed 371 sexual and gender minority youth and gathered in-depth information from more than 60 focus groups in Tamil Nadu. 84% of participants reported being bullied, most by other students, but in one-fifth of those cases by a male teacher. Only 18% of those who were bullied said they reported the incident to school authorities.

LGBT activists in India triumphed last year when the Supreme Court unanimously struck down Section 377 of India’s penal code, which criminalized same-sex relations. Justice Indu Malhotra pointedly stated that

“An apology is owed to members of the LGBT community for the ostracisation and persecution they faced because of society’s ignorance”.

People’s prejudices lead them to think that LGBT people are odd and very different. Today, homosexuality and queer identities may be acceptable to more Indian youths than ever before but within the boundaries of families, homes, and schools, acceptance still remains a constant struggle for LGBT people. India is a vast and diverse country and attitudes towards this subject and experiences of LGBTI individuals vary vastly. The disparity between urban and rural India, language, caste, class, and gender add further complexities to understanding this topic more fully. But what we do know is that India’s LGBT citizens are not a “minuscule minority”. They have a voice that is strong and refuses to be silent any longer in their efforts to reclaim equality.

Being L, G, B or T is not a ‘problem’, nor is it a ‘choice’ as such. LGBT individuals are merely individuals who have sexual preferences that differ from what would appear to be the ‘norm’. Saying that it’s objectively wrong for people to have sexual preferences that differ from the norm is objectively wrong itself.

If normal men and women have the right to live in this society with respect then why can’t a person who belongs to LGBT can live in this society with respect. It’s not about what our religion says, it’s about what humanity says. If we talk about religion as per the Hindu aspects, Lord Rama had given a boon to hijras for their loyalty that’s why the curse or boon of hijras means a lot to the normal beings.

So with Section 377 gone, what’s next? May 17 was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. This day has received official recognition from several states, international institutions as the European Parliament, and countless local authorities. Most United Nations agencies also mark the occasion with specific events.

There is still much that remains to be done if the civil rights of LGBT persons in India are to be protected. They have the absolute and inalienable right to define themselves in their own terms and in their own languages. They have the right to express themselves and their identities without fear of violence or retribution. They are human beings, holders of human rights, and they need to be recognized as such within the societies they live in. I think everyone who is living in this world, either normal or abnormal has equal rights to live in this society with full respect.