Gay Rights: Equality for Some

A common refrain these days on everybody’s lips seems to be, “Maa da ladla bigad gaya”.

And why not, this is the effect of our very own Bollywood - that lets people eat out of their favourite actor/actress’ hands (even I am one of those, who bunked classes to watch my favourite movies).

Though the movie fever has long left me, I still keenly wait for all Bollywood gossip. Last week “Straight” – starring Vinay Pathak, Gul Panag, Siddharth Makkar, Anuj Chaudhary was released.

The movie, though not based on Gay rights, or homosexuality, did stray into one of the “No Zone” areas of the society. “Not conservative enough”, my bro said on this. Well, I quickly pointed out Fire, Water and all those movies that faced similar circumstances.

Well, I am not going to discuss the much debated “moral policing” in this article.

What I want to highlight here is the taboo surrounding “homosexuality”, not only in India but elsewhere in the world. The line I quoted, at the beginning from one of the songs of the movie Dostana, itself shows the deep rooted negative sentiment in our society.

We are still not able to respect the fact that homosexuals are a part of our society. They do not come from a different world. They have feelings like us. And if we respect humanity, if we really love freedom, individuality and nature, we ought to respect them.

Of course, in India a gay marriage, besides being illegal, invites a lot of opposition from society and especially parents, who mean a lot since in our country “family” always comes first. But what we are forgetting is that when widow remarriage was still a taboo in India, a movement started in the 19th Century to make it acceptable.

So essentially “if we have to walk a thousand miles, we have to begin with the first step”.

Do we ever ask somebody: Hey are you a boy/girl?

Then why do we ask someone if they are gay/lesbian/homosexual/retro sexual or whatever?

So why is the question, “Are you gay?”, is a potent comment that can be used to put anyone down.

Is it somebody’s fault to express his true feelings?

Is this country free only for a select populace, not for all people? We know homosexuals will continue to be a part of our society, but we choose to live in a denial mode. Shouldn’t we then be labeled as “hypocrites”? We do not even have it in us to respect democracy – that is: for the people, of the people, and by the people.

We shall not call ourselves a free country, if we cannot provide freedom to everybody.

Article 21 of India’s Constitution provides Right to Equality to everybody. The Supreme Court has also through its judgments held that Article 21 stands not merely for the Right to life and personal liberty, but also for the “Right to Dignity” and all other attributes of human personality that are essential for the development of a person.

Now is this the case with homosexuals?

To add insult to injury, the Home Ministry has told the High Court that “homosexuality is a disease which could spread in the society if the government lifts the ban, and also that gay sex causes bodily injury.”

Another argument was that HIV/AIDS would spread in the society if gay sex is decriminalized. Not surprisingly, the government rushed for cover when the Delhi High Court in turn asked the government to produce scientific facts validating this statement.

The Court was hearing a case of gay rights activist challenging the validity of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which prescribes life sentence for “carnal intercourse against the order of the nature”.

This colonial law, in fact, is doing more harm than anything, especially at a time when HIV/AIDS spreading fast and needs better awareness.

The welcome news is that the Health Ministry has given its approval for the legalisation of homosexuality.

India could also take a cue from its immediate neighbour Nepal.

Recently, the apex court in Nepal gave its consent to same-sex marriages, a move that beats off social taboos in the conservative valley.

The apex court directed the Maoist-led government in Nepal to formulate necessary laws to guarantee full rights to gays, including right to same-sex marriage.

The verdict had paved the way granting identity and citizenship to gays including the right to own property and right to employment. There is now a separate column for the third sex in the citizenship certificate in the Himalayan country.

Looking at the gay movement, it was the Netherlands that became the first country to allow same-sex marriage in 2001. Later various countries, namely -- Belgium, Canada, Nepal, Norway, South Africa, and Spain -- legalized it in the following years. In the United States, only two states - Massachusetts and Connecticut – have legalized it. In 2005, Spain became the first country in the world to recognize same-sex marriage (including adoption rights) on equal terms and under the same law.

The Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Spain and Norway are the only countries where the legal status of same-sex marriage is exactly the same as that of opposite-sex marriage, though South Africa is due to fully harmonize its marriage laws.

However, a some positive steps are being taken in India too. Months ago, India witnessed a gay rally here in Delhi. Unlike in the past, the rally went on peacefully. There was no untoward incident. In fact, many people, including gay rights activists, participated in the rally (though with their faces covered). And onlookers were more curious than censorious.

So is a change slowly coming to our society?