page_title: Tamil sexual minorities
section_title: Recent history
hierarchical_section_title: Tamil sexual minorities / History / Recent history
caption_attribution_description: English: Anjali Gopalan, Gopi Shankar of Srishti Madurai during Asia's first gender queer pride parade in Madurai.
context_page_description: Tamil sexual minorities are Tamil people who do not conform to heterosexual gender norms, although the term can be expanded to refer to women as well. They may identify as LGBTQIA. It has been estimated that India has a population of 2.5 million homosexuals, though not all of them are Tamil, and not all Tamils live in India.
  There are currently laws that criminalize homosexual sex implemented in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Mauritius, all of which have Tamil as an official or recognized language, and have referenced Section 377 of the British penal code as far back as colonial times Sri Lanka and Mauritius have implemented anti-discrimination laws, whereas Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu provide support for transsexual people. The law in Sri Lanka is legally dormant.
  The entire political spectrum of Tamil Nadu supports transsexual and third gender people. A Buddhist movement and the INC both openly support reforming the colonial law criminalizing gay sex, but the remaining parties have remained silent on the issue. Nevertheless, a number of politicians from across the spectrum have taken part in events to support the welfare of homosexuals and lesbians.
context_section_description: Chennai born Anjali Gopalan, whose father was a Tamil Hindu and mother was a Sikh, was one of South Asia's pioneers in providing support for sexual minorities. She established the Naz Foundation in the early 1990s in order to help sufferers deal with HIV, and also to act as a vehicle to lobby for sexual minorities. The organization would later go on to become a major force in Indian politics, persuading the Supreme Court of India to decriminalize gay sex.
  Transsexual people had long been afforded acceptance in Tamil Nadu and by 2008 both transsexual people and third genders had been recognized by the State. The majority of dominant political parties in Tamil Nadu have contested elections with transgender politicians.
  The Tamil Nadu High Court has complained to the Centre that sexual minorities are not being provided their basic rights, suggesting that the law criminalizing gay sex should be reformed and that sexual minorities should be a reserved group. There have also been several politicians from the Tamil BJP and RSS attending and supporting the welfare of sexual minorities.
caption: Anjali Gopalan and Gopi Shankar Madurai at Asia's first genderqueer pride parade at Madurai
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