According to data given to the hon’ble Supreme Court of India, there are more than 2.5 million people who recognise themselves as belonging to the LGBTQ community in India. The actual count of LGBTQ community remains untraced and uncounted. Our lack of acceptance of the community precedes our lack of awareness of this community. It is not alien but an intrinsic part of our society. Since ancient times there has been a belief of ardhanarishwara i.e. the concept of merging energies of male and female. Another concept in Sanskrit speaks of vikriti evam prakriti i.e. what seems unnatural is also natural.

It is immensely ironical that the society at large has prejudices towards marital rape and its recognition. They say that we can’t enter into people’s bedrooms and that it’s a sensitive matter. But then we allow ourselves to comment on the personal and private lives of those individuals who don’t love heterogeneously but choose people of the same gender.

This is violative of the core principles of equality as mentioned in articles 14, 15, 21. Many private bills have been introduced in the past in the parliament but didn’t make it through the process. In 2009, the high court of Delhi struck down almost whole of section 377 of the Indian penal code. It retained only the part of non consensual non vaginal intercourse with minors. Further it was commented by few leaders that ‘’ homosexuality is against our ethos..’’ such comments have demotivated the LGBTQ communities hopes for laws to legitimise their relationships like any other citizen.

Later on in 2018, after a long drawn battle, the section was struck down by Supreme Court too. The same part was retained for non-consensual intercourse with minors and animals, making it an offence under 377. Today, section 377 is not valid for same sex relationships. But there is no law for them to get married and legalise their union. If few couples dare to marry then they face the wrath of the residential premises they live in. then the battle is decided by courts when they’re granted legal recognition by the court. There have been instances of high courts granting safety to same sex couples who face risk of their lives due to their relationship.

Recently there have been conflicting views by different judges of same high court regarding same sex couples’ rights.
These prejudices are ingrained in our psyches and need to be uprooted. There need to be a separate law to include same sex couples and before that also recognise the community. We must not flinch at the sight of a person who dresses unlike ourselves. Differences must be accepted. Environments must be eased for everyone to exist peacefully. This is not idealism but inclusivity and humanity. This is realism and is achievable only if we realise the importance of rights that are violated because of the false notions of perfection that we possess. It will take generations for change to happen but it isn’t far away.

Recently, the webseries portrayal of a queer man by actor Arjun Mathur got him an Emmy nomination. This means global recognition to the idea of portrayal of a queer man and its dichotomies in our society. We must now step ahead and not let stereotypes get the best of us.

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.

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