The following are reflections of -Ruby Almeida, Indian-origin queer activist, and chair of  LGBT+ Catholics, Westminster, UK.

“The news that Pope Francis has approved blessings for same-gender couples … is nothing short of wonderful for those many couples in committed relationships… The idea, not to say practice, that a loving and committed same-gender couple could deserve a blessing in their faith and from the Church that they love so much, has been a struggle for the Church for far too long.

Following on the recent announcements about LGBT+ access to, and involvement in, Baptism & Confirmation celebrations, the Church is taking another small step towards the radical inclusion of LGBT+ people of God… This is a massive step forward in the recognition and acceptance of all who seek a blessing for their loving and committed relationships.”

“We know that around the world our community face much violence and rejection by their communities and by their Church leaders. They cannot even live a life of knowing what it is like to be be loved by a partner, for fear of their lives. Therefore, this blessing, this aspiration that we all have is but an unachievable dream for many. But to dream is to hope. We pray that this dream, this blessing will be something that they will one day be able to have.”

Image and text courtesy Ruby Almeida. The content is from two media releases, that of the Global Network of Rainbow Catholicss of which Ruby is a media officer, and of the  LGBT+ Catholics Westminster, of which she is the Chair.

This unfortunate state of affairs has occurred despite inclusive definitions of transgender persons in the Supreme Court NALSA verdict of 2014 and the Transgender Act (2019) and Rules (2020).

This  narrow and exclusionary stance will no doubt aggravate the challenges faced by transmasculine persons in accessing social welfare schemes and entitlements, with no individual to represent transmasculine concerns on the National Council.

We sincerely hope the council will be expanded to include transmasculine persons and open intersex persons from all regions, and that the current nominees to the Council will take  it upon themselves to press for such inclusion.

It would be pertinent to point out here that Assam-native Rituparna Neog, newly appointed National Council representative from the North East, has taken care to ensure diverse (gender identity, regional, tribal) representation in Assam’s transgender welfare board. We hope the other members will take a cue from Neog’s visionary leadership and advocate for broadening the representation in the National Council of Transgender Persons.

Click here to view the Gazette notification. 

Thanks to volunteer Fred for sharing the notification.

The context of the petitioner is as follows: Prasanna, a 34 y.o. cis gay man in Chennai, faced a health emergency requiring hospitalisation during the second wave of COVID, in 2021.  However, his partner of over 15 years was not recognised as a family member. As a result, Prasanna was forced to travel to the neighbouring district (where his natal family resided) to seek emergency care there. Based on this and other instances of exclusion and discrimination, Prasanna prayed for recognition of his partner through contract law, specifically the Deed of Familial Association, proposed the same year by Prof Tiju Thomas in the Law School Policy Review. The petition was impleaded in the Sushma hearings of Madras High Court and heard by Justice Anand Venkatesh on Nov 17, 2023.

The Madras High Court has asked for the Tamil Nadu government to consider this proposal, and for it to be included in the state LGBTQIA+ policy currently being drafted,  The Interim Order draws attention to the Supriyo judgement and asks that the DFA be in consonance with the ratio of the judgement, focusing on ways to ensure (only) Article 21 – which includes the right to relationships –  is protected through the mechanism of a DFA.

Media coverage follows

Stills are available for download at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vUnmOyBYLb2jvHrljE1D5EPVClwsPGv7?usp=share_link

Brochure is available here.

For more information, contact 98433-73433 or 98415-57983, email chennaiintlqueerfilmfest@gmail.com or visit www.ciqff.org.
The eleventh annual edition of Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival will be held at the Goethe-Institut, Chennai, from August 18-20, 2023. Reel Desires features films, shorts and documentaries showcasing sexuality and gender diversity issues. This year’s line-up consists of 30 films from 12 countries, selected via a community-led review process. The principal organisers of CIQFF 2023 are Orinam and Goethe-Institut, working in collaboration with Nirangal Charitable Trust and SAATHII.
On Friday, August 18, the inauguration will be followed by a short performance by Chennai-based drag artist Nethu Nightu Neelambari. Shorts to be screened include Chummy Matrimony (2021), Thine Own Self (2021), That Dark Day (2022), Vaanavil (2022) Stiletto (2023), and Bésame (Kiss Me) (2022). Friday’s feature-length documentary film Who Owns The Sky? (Wem Gehört der Himmel) features interviews with activists from artistic and academic environments in Argentina and Switzerland. They question the validity of enforced hetero norms and their consequences, in response to an innovative Gender Identity Law that was passed in Argentina in 2012. The discussions are embedded and impressively addressed in art activism through performances that centre the body as a political instrument.

Films on Saturday, August 19, will focus on families that queer and trans people are born into, forced into or choose for ourselves. These include Impasse (2022) that features the life of Ashok, an immigrant auto driver from Tamil Nadu, living in Mumbai, who is torn between his life of married respectability with a wife and child, and his desire for men. Binary Error (2022) from Kerala highlights the choice some queer and trans people have to make between their natal families and living their truth. The joyous Russian animation All Men Should Have Shoes (2021) narrates the story of trans guy Herman, whose supportive mother believes that only men’s shoes will help her son complete his social transition. A highlight will be the film-festival premiere of Ekka Dokka Tekka (One Two Three) by Tirthankar Guha Thakurta. In this short, three popular mainstream writings in Bengali literature (Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay and Rabindranath Tagore) are retold through a queer lens set in Kolkata.

Saturday’s film screenings will be followed by a panel discussion Queer Families: Beyond the Marriage Equality Debate. Panelists, who include members of Chennai’s LGBTQIA+ communities and allies, explore the notion of family beyond what is affirmed by our laws, culture, religion, media, and advertisements. The panel discussion assumes relevance in light of the awaited Supreme Court verdict on marriage equality. Following the panel discussion will be a hip-hop party on the roof of Goethe-Institut, with entry limited to 100 persons.
Films to be screened on Sunday, August 20, include Diva, a fan letter to Diva Cat Thy, a Vietnamese trans woman, street food vendor, and performer, who openly shares her life and struggles daily on social media. Oas (Dewdrops) (2022) is the story of two queer women who broke up some time back but are still in love. In Required Reading (2022), a cis, straight-identifying male and a non-binary person fall in love. Will they find the courage to be honest with both themselves and the world? Pussy Cruising (2021) tackles the topic of lesbian cruising in a humorous way and takes viewers on a flirtatious journey between vibrant fantasy and mundane reality. The just-released short documentary Transcending Boundaries (2023) features queer, trans, and intersex activists speaking about struggles for transgender rights in Kerala.
On Sunday evening, the play Neela Bhoomi directed by Tamilarasi R., captures the life of a lesbian couple as they strive to make a home together against all odds.
The closing film is the acclaimed feature Neubau (German, Vietnamese). It follows a trans man Markus, who is torn between his love for his grandmothers in need of care and his longing for urban self- determination in Berlin. When Vietnamese technician Duc enters his life, things become more complicated, as Markus has to decide if he should stay or go.
As LGBTQIA+ collectives in India advocate for inclusive institutions and reduced discrimination, we also work to engender change in hearts and minds, a task substantially more challenging than legal reform. One way we do this is by participating in and producing cultures that reflect both the universality and specificity of our experiences.
Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival 2023, curated under this name since 2013, is the latest in a series of over 18 queer-themed film festivals held in Chennai to date, beginning in November 2004. The event is free and open to individuals 18 years and older.
Stills are available for download at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vUnmOyBYLb2jvHrljE1D5EPVClwsPGv7?usp=share_link

Till about fifty years back, all over the world, many believed that homosexuality is a disease and can be treated. It was even listed in the official classification of diseases in various countries. In 1973 however, the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual (DSM) which is the official classification of diseases in the United States removed homosexuality from the list. The WHO followed suit after some years and removed it from its list of diseases called the International Classifification of Diseases (ICD). The message to the doctors world over including the psychiatrists was loud and clear; stop trying to treat homosexuality since it is not even a disease and that it is a normal variation of sexuality which is a spectrum rather than a single codified sexual behaviour.
However, many psychiatrists in India not only continued to believe that it is a disease but also continued to treat it with what they called ‘Conversion Therapy’ on hapless young men and women brought to them by desperate parents who would do anything to make their wards straight and ‘normal’.

Conversion Therapy (CT) was (and is!) a set of procedures crudely based on principles of Behaviour Therapy which posits that any behaviour which is rewarded gets repeated and any behaviour which is punished gets extinguished overtime. In a particularly dainty version of treatment, during the session, imagining sex with a person of opposite sex is followed by pleasant images or music and imagining a same sex person with sexual intent is accompanied with an aversive stimulus like a mild electric current. As late as 1983, Indian Journal of Psychiatry, the official Journal of Indian Psychiatric Society published a paper entitled, “Homosexuality: A Study of Treatment and Outcome”. Six ‘exclusively homosexuals,’ five males and one female between the ages of 19 and 30 were treated and “in five of them the therapy was successful”. The rewarding stimulus used was personal favourite music and the aversive stimulus was 50 volts current! The study was done at the AIIMS, New Delhi and was presented at the annual conference of Indian Psychiatric Society at Bombay. The paper can be read in full here-
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3012326/pdf/IJPsy-25-235.pdf.

The practice however decreased over the years as the world including the Indian psychiatrists accepted the fact of normalcy of a wide variety of sexual behaviours including homosexuality. However desperate parents continued to approach psychiatrists and many psychiatrists including some very senior ones continued to believe that homosexuality is a disease and needs treatment.

In January 2014, the then President of Indian Psychiatric Society Dr. Indira Sharma at the annual conference of the Society, during her speech from the podium of the society said that homosexuality was un-natural, homosexuals made rest of the people uncomfortable and should seek psychiatric help. The talk was widely reported in the press [TOI article here]  countrywide brouhaha [see editorial footnote].

I happened at that time to be the Chairperson of Task Force on Mental Health Legislation of the IPS and wrote to the then President and the VP requesting for some action even a symbolic one against the outgoing President. When nothing like that happened, I resigned from the membership of the society. I received several concerned calls asking why was I doing it, was I gay! I replied, no, I was doing it because I was a scientist and medical science said homosexuality is normal and should be left alone.

Things improved some years later, particularly because of the vociferous stand by the younger psychiatrists. For the first time in 2018, under the leadership of one of the best Presidents so far, Dr. Ajit Bhide, the IPS came out with a clear position statement on its website, saying that since homosexuality is not a disease no treatment is necessary. What helped further clear the air was the Supreme Court judgement of 2018 de-criminalising homosexuality.

At the same time the adage ‘More things change, more they remain the same’ continued to apply. According to Mariwala Health Initiative as reported in 2022 by the Scroll, 80% of the queer persons still go through either faith healing or the equally mumbo-jumbo Conversion Therapy from psychiatrists.

So much so that the Madras High Court in June 2021, on the plea of a queer rights NGO, ordered that all forms of Conversion Therapy were to be treated as professional misconduct and asked the National Medical Commission and the Indian Psychiatric Society to take disciplinary action in each case reported.

In 2022, a queer rights activist Dr. Prakash Dandekar (a radiation oncologist and co-founder of Mumbai Seenagers), reported to the Indian Psychiatric Society the case of a psychiatrist from Maharashtra, who has a million followers on Youtube and is a practising proponent of ‘homosexuality needs treatment’ school of thought. The IPS asked its LGBT task force to enquire into it but according to a frustrated member of the enquiry committee, was ‘persuaded’ later by the seniors in the IPS not to take any action based on the specious argument that the videos on the Youtube were posted before the Madras High Court Judgement, totally ignoring the fact that those continued to run long after the said judgement was delivered and many say still do. What such protectionism by the IPS does is to nullify even some of the progressive steps taken by the society itself like supporting gay people’s rights to adopt children.

And it is no surprise that, as reported by Wire  on 14th July 16, 2023. under the heading,
“Lesbian Couple’s Harrowing Journey Shines Light on Continuing Dangers of ‘Conversion Therapy’ (and that is what triggered this post), a lesbian girl was admitted and forcibly medicated at parents’ behest, at a psychiatric hospital in Kozhikode, Kerala to treat her sexual orientation! What medicine it could be is beyond me because there is no medicine to alter sexual orientation. Many times, when asked, the rationalization given is that, they were just trying to treat depression which many of queers have. Of course, many of them are depressed but that is just because of the societal and family pressures and listening to them sensitively and some medication occasionally, is all that is required. That does not need involuntary admission and forced injections. I tell them just do what you would do if a person with O-ve blood group comes to you with depression. You treat the Depression but you never try to change his blood group just to mainstream him, because a) It is normal even if uncommon and more importantly b) it cannot be done.

And Dr. Indira Sharma continues to hold responsible positions in Indian Psychiatry Society, year after year including, the Advisor to the Task force on Human Rights(of all the things) in 2022 !

It is high time for Indian Psychiatry to get its act together and ask its members to accept the scientific fact that all genders and sexualities are normal and that there is nothing here to treat!

Footnote from the editors:

• For more information, see query sent to IPS at https://new2.orinam.net/indira-sharma-homosexuality/ and response by Prof.T.V.Asokan, then President,  at https://new2.orinam.net/indian-psychiatric-society-homosexual-not-mental-illness
• Also see open letter to Dr Dinesh Bhugra, World Psychiatric Society, in connection with Dr. Indira Sharma’s statements.
• Orinam’s letter to Dr Raju, then General Secretary, on his statement “the IPS… is working on finding out the majority opinion among psychiatrists regarding the classification and management of homosexuality.” is here.

1. When is the Chennai Rainbow* Pride march?

Chennai’s Rainbow Pride / Self Respect march has been scheduled for 25th of June 2023, the last Sunday of the month, beginning 3:30 pm from Rajarathinam Stadium, Egmore. See the Pride 2023 list of community demands  here

2. What should I do to be a part of the pride parade/pride events?

Just show up on the scheduled date and time at the venue. There is no registration, and there are no tickets.

3. Isn’t holding such a march illegal?

No, and it wasn’t ever illegal. Section 377 (which was read down in 2018 by the Supreme Court of India) did not criminalise people identifying themselves as LGBTI or as allies, and did not criminalise events such as marches, film festivals or other ways in which we exercise our constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression in a peaceful manner. The Pride organisers in Chennai always obtain police permission for the venue. *Incidentally, the Supreme Court verdict of Sept 7, 2018, has declared that consensual relationship among LGBTIQ+ adults are not criminal.

4. Who organises the pride parade/pride events?

The pride parade and press meets are organised by the umbrella collective called Tamil Nadu Rainbow Coalition. Additionally, one or more member organisations may take a lead in organising other pride events such as cultural events and workshops. The same will be mentioned in the event invite. Orinam is, incidentally, one of the members of the Coalition, and maintains this website on behalf of the Coalition. It is not the sole organiser of the Pride march.

5. This will be my first pride march. I have seen only photographs and videos of pride parades so far. In them, I see that people wear very colourful clothes and accessories. I do not have such clothes and accessories and I am comfortable with my usual way of dressing? Can I turn up as I am?

You are welcome as you are. One of the very purposes of the pride march is to be able to express ourselves and be who we are. No one will judge you for who you are or the clothes you wear. Inclusiveness is our only aim.

6. I am heterosexual. Will my being at Pride cause others to assume I am gay?

The group of people marching at Pride includes many heterosexual supporters, friends, family members and colleagues of LGBT people, allies from other groups and progressive movements, in addition to those from the gay, lesbian, bi, trans, intersex, gender-fluid communities. So, no, your being there should not – in and of itself – cause people to assume you are gay, bi, trans or queer. If you want to emphasise the point of your heterosexuality, consider bringing a placard that says “Straight but not narrow” or “Straight Ally” or “I support LGBTIQA+ rights”. Also, remember that we are working towards a society where being called LGBTIQA+ is not a slur or something to be embarrassed or ashamed about, and where the notion of Pride includes pride in being a supporter of rights for people of all sexualities and genders, regardless of your own sexuality or gender.

7. I do not live in Chennai, but I would like to attend the pride parade/ pride event. I cannot afford to rent a room in a hotel or lodge. Would you be able to arrange for my accommodation?

The coalition does not provide accommodation officially. However, we suggest you explore inexpensive dorm-style accommodation in the area or community members willing to host. If you need help with this, please reach out to us.  The coalition leaves such requests and subsequent negotiations up to the person making the request, and ask that you verify the authenticity and intentions of the person offering accommodation independently. The coalition assumes no liability in this regard.

8. Uff, so many terms! I thought I understood gay and transgender and lesbian. But who are bisexuals? Trans men? Intersex people? Why can’t we just all call ourselves gay and be done with it?

Expecting every non-heterosexual non-cisgender person to identify with the term ‘gay’ makes no more sense than expecting all women to feel included by the term ‘guys’. We are diverse, and the alphabet soup, imperfect as it may be, is an attempt to acknowledge and honour this diversity. To help you along, here is a simple glossary of terms in English and Tamil updated in Jan 2022 and endorsed by the Madras High Court in the Sushma vs. Commissioner of Police case.

9. Our company/organization/cultural commission/consulate would like to send a contingent to the Pride march. How do we do this?

We welcome participants from both non-profit and for-profit groups as well as unaffiliated individuals. If you are a corporation, cultural organization or consulate, and would like to show your support for Chennai Pride, for your LGBTIQA+ employees, and for the principles of diversity and inclusion, you are welcome to send a contingent to the Pride march. You are welcome to wear your company t-shirts and carry placards supporting LGBTIQA+rights. However, learning from the experiences of other Pride marches which have become platforms for product placement and marketing, we respectfully ask that organizations (both for-profit and non-profit) (i) not use the forum to advertise your products whether through ads, banners, pamphlets or leaflets, or handing out freebies (including rainbow flags, t-shirts, keychains, stationery items, etc., with branding of your organization), AND (ii) allow the community groups to march ahead of you.This is non-negotiable. For further questions send us a message.

10. We are a queer/ally non-profit group or collective. Can we march with our group’s banner?

You are welcome to march with banners and placards with general messages about LGBTIQA+ rights. However, no names, logos or other symbols of your CBO, NGO, campus group, or collective on banners, placards, flyers or handouts, please. This is non-negotiable.

11. I would like to participate in the Pride march but I am not out, and do not want to disclose my identity.

Masks will be available at the venue, and you can arrange to pick them up before the media gets there.

12. Is the Pride march venue accessible to people with disability?

People with disabilities are an integral part of our LGBTIQA+ and ally communities. It is our endeavour to make the Pride march as accessible as possible. While the route allotted by the government is not very wheelchair-friendly, we will be happy to arrange cars that can accommodate wheelchairs, if you let us know 7-10 days in advance. Further, if you need sign language interpretation or volunteers to narrate the proceedings as they traverse the pride route with you, please let us know at least a week in advance.

13. What should I do if a member of the press wants to interview me?

It is entirely up to you to give consent, to provide your name, identify as a member or ally of the LGBT community, or not. If you do give consent, and if the press asks you what the purpose of the march is, you can mention some of the points in the Pride press release, that will be available in English and Tamil.

14. Is there a party before or after the Pride march?

The Coalition does not organise parties. However there may be private parties organised by groups not affiliated with the Coalition.  Do look for announcements on Facebook and other social media.

15. I would like to donate to the pride parade/pride events. Whom should I contact?

You can use the below contact form to reach out to us. One of the volunteers from the organising committee will contact you. For faster communication, please leave your contact number. One of the NGOs that is a member of the coalition will be able to provide you details for a NEFT bank transfer or pick up cash and give you a receipt. All donations go strictly towards supplies such as water, stationery for placards, banners, renting spaces for planning meeting, press meets, other Pride-related events, and other logistics including local travel to carry banners and water cans to the venue. Chennai Rainbow / Self Respect Pride is a non-commercial event, funded entirely through donations from our communities and allies.

At this time we are not accepting donations from for-profit businesses, corporate-associated foundations or their CSR wings. However LGBTIQA+ people and allies who are employees of businesses are welcome to donate in their personal capacity. Non-profits and volunteer collectives, whether formal or informal, are welcome to donate as well.

I would like to volunteer/donate for the pride parade/pride events. Whom should I contact?
Please use the Orinam contact form to reach out to us. Depending on the nature of your query we will pass it on to the relevant Coalition member.

*Note: The Chennai Rainbow Pride march and events connected with Chennai Rainbow Pride month organized by the Tamil Nadu Rainbow Coalition and its member groups/collectives/individuals are in no way linked with fundraising attempts that bear the name ‘Chennai International Pride’ or any other brand. In case of queries, please send us a message using the form given below.

May 3, 2023

To:
The Government of Tamil Nadu

Subject: MARRIAGE EQUALITY Report Summarising the Needs and Demands from the LGBTQIA+ Community in Tamil Nadu

Given the pendency of the marriage equality petitions before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, a meeting was conducted in Chennai on April 23, 2023, in which members of LGBTQIA+ groups such as Kattiyakkari, Nirangal Charitable Trust, Orinam, Queerbatore, SAATHII, Sahodaran, Tamil Nadu LGBTIQ Movement. Trans Community Kitchen (Chennai), Thozhi, and Trans Rights Now; and individual activists, lawyers, mental health professionals and academics were present. These groups and individuals are part of Tamil Nadu Rainbow Coalition, an informal network first established as the Chennai Rainbow Coalition in 2009 and subsequently expanded across the state.

An open discussion was had, and the following points are now being submitted to the Government of Tamil Nadu for its consideration, in the event states have an opportunity to make submissions before the Hon’ble Supreme Court.

• Introduction
• Marriage and its Benefits – Why does the LGBTQIA+ community require the social protection of marriage
• Can the existing personal laws be modified to include the LGBTQIA+ community?
• Notice Period Requirement in the Special Marriage Act
• A Step Forward in the the Future of Personal Laws – The Right to Chosen Family

1. INTRODUCTION:

1.1 The State of Tamil Nadu has granted legal recognition to the transgender community and has constituted a welfare board since 2008, six years prior the Supreme Court’s verdict in NALSA vs Union of India. In more recent times, the marriage between a transwoman and a man was held to be valid under the Hindu Marriage Act by the Hon’ble Madras High Court in Arun Kumar and others vs Inspector General of Registration and others. In the case of S. Sushma vs Commissioner of Police, the Hon’ble Madras High Court has examined the struggles faced by the members of the LGBTQIA+ community in detail, and has issued directions to various government authorities in order to ensure their protection and safety.

1.2 As a state that has historically recognised and supported members of the queer community both through policy reform, judicial pronouncements, and government directives and as a state that has brought about an amendment to the Hindu Marriage Act in the year 1968 to include suyamariyathai or seerthiruththa thirumanam (self-respect marriages) in the ambit of a Hindu marriage, Tamil Nadu’s position in this litigation should unequivocally be in support of marriage equality, and the rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals to be able to solemnise marriages irrespective of gender markers (M, F, T).

1.3 In the present batch of petitions before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India (also referred to as “Marriage Equality Petitions” going forward) Tamil Nadu should support marriages both under the Special Marriage Act as well as under religious personal laws.

2. MARRIAGE AND ITS BENEFITS

2.1 Marriage is the most socially accepted social union between two adults. This has also been discussed in detail by the Petitioners in the Marriage Equality Petitions.

2.2 The State of Tamil Nadu also recognises this social protection given by marriage, and thus has marriage assistance schemes to assist daughters of poor parents, orphan girls, widows who remarry, widows daughter’s marriage and inter-caste married couples through the Dr. Dharmambal Ammaiyar Ninaivu Widow Remarriage Assistance Scheme, E.V.R. Maniammaiyar Ninaivu Marriage Assistance Scheme For Daughters Of Poor Widows, Annai Therasa Ninaivu Marriage Assistance Scheme For Orphan Girls, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy Ninaivu Inter-Caste Marriage Assistance Scheme.

2.3 An argument has been advanced by the Union Government that marriage is not necessary or important for the members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and that their fundamental rights are not denied because they are not able to get married. Restrictions within the existing matrimonial law framework were highlighted, and the submission of the Union Government can be condensed to – “They can exist in this country, but they cannot get married in the current legal framework, and this inability to get married is not a violation of their fundamental right”. This is an incorrect understanding of the law, and the requirements of this community. For a persecuted group who are more often than not asked to leave or are thrown out of their birth families and familial homes owing to the stigma associated with their existence, LGBTQIA+ individuals struggle to find their footing in society. They choose their families and they build their community. Living in as domestic partners does not stand on the same footing of marriage today. In the Hon’ble Supreme Court judgement of D.Velusamy vs D.Patchaiammal, it was held that even the protection under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 was only available to couples who are in a live-in-relationship if their domestic relationship “is in the nature of marriage”.

2.4 Thus, for the Union Government to gate-keep this institution, which by its very laws and policies gives rise to various benefits, is tantamount to deliberately depriving the LGBTQIA+ community- an already vulnerable portion of Indian society of the rights and benefits available to heterosexual people.

2.5 The importance of marriage as a social institution that gives rise to benefits, responsibilities, duties, and oversight by the status cannot be replicated through any other form of living arrangement or domestic partnership both in the Indian legal framework as well as the Indian cultural context. A short and non-exhaustive list outlining the protection offered by marriage includes:

Protection offered through Marital Status

• Unless both or one of the individuals to the marriage want to dissolve their union, nobody else can do it. This aspect is invaluable to members of a community who are frequently deliberately separated by birth parents in order to prevent their relationship from proceeding further.
• It is easier to find accommodation in rental houses as a married couple, than it is as unmarried people in India right now. This is extremely useful to members of the LGBTQIA+ community who are more often than not asked to leave their birth families, unable to find permanent jobs as their education certificates and identity proof is not immediately available to them, and they have to move from one place to another in search of employment
• The benefits of opening a joint bank account, purchasing life insurance with nominees as a spouse will now extend to the LGBTQIA+ community.
• The ability to take health related decisions and be the nominee of their partner in the case of emergencies will now extend to the LGBTQIA+ community. Hospitals and health care professionals all require either blood relatives or spouses to sign off on life-saving treatments and surgeries, and at present, this crucial benefit is not available to members of the LGBTQIA+ community, many of whose members are separated and cut-off from their birth families who refuse to accept their choices and a community where members are also at risk of sexually transmitted illnesses.
• In addition to providing security during the life-time of a couple, marriage also grants benefits that can make it easier to navigate through the death of a spouse such as compassionate appointment, the right to receive mortal remains, and makes it easier to execute a will or obtain a legal heir certificate to carry out formalities after the spouse’s death.

3. CAN THE EXISTING PERSONAL LAWS BE MODIFIED TO INCLUDE THE LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY?

3.1 The Hindu Marriage Act uses the terms “bride” and “groom”. The Special Marriage Act uses the terms “persons”, “parties”, and in the declaration uses the terms “husband and wife”. The Christian Marriage Act uses the terms “persons”. Removing the gender barrier in terminology can happen if the words bride, groom, husband, and wife are replaced by the words persons and spouses.

3.2 The list of prohibited relationships can be merged and make way for one comprehensive list so that the concerns of the legislature about inter-familial marriages are met.

3.3 The legal age to marry can be modified to become 18 – the age of majority. This is particularly important for LGBTQIA+ persons as parents who identify that their children are gender-nonconforming at an early age try to get their children married off as soon as possible.

4. NOTICE PERIOD REQUIREMENT IN THE SPECIAL MARRIAGE ACT

4.1 The existing framework in the Special Marriage Act involves a notice period requirement that is unconstitutional. Following the notice intending marriage, details of the people intending to marry will be publicly exhibited in their respective jurisdictions. This can have devastating consequences for LGBTQIA+ individuals who have fled from their birth families, and risk confinement, institutionalisation, forced conversions, and even honour killing. The 30 day objection period is also a cause for concern, as the word objection is not defined, and anybody can object. The notice period will place already vulnerable and persecuted individuals at grave risk, and will cause many hurdles in implementing marriage equality among members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

4.2 Thus, the Tamil Nadu government should support declaring Section 5 and 6 of the Special Marriage Act as unconstitutional. Any rights granted to the members of the LGBTQIA+ community with respect to marriage under the Special Marriage Act regime cannot be implemented when the notice period clause is still in force.

5. A STEP FORWARD IN THE FUTURE OF PERSONAL LAWS – THE RIGHT TO CHOSEN FAMILY

5.1 While the right of LGBTQIA+ individuals to marry can definitely improve the quality of life of queer individuals and is the right step forward, the future of the community can only be safeguarded when they have the right to choose their families. Unlike cis-heterosexual relations where familial bonds are strong and regulate social conduct and life, many members of the LGBTQIA+ community are forced to leave or are thrown out of their birth families and their native villages/ community.

5.2 Legal recognition to chosen families, by granting ration cards, identity proof in the same address, protection to couples forced to flee natal families, rights to parenting and custody, inheritance, rights of chosen family members to make medical decisions, insurance, and extending government incentives and schemes that are given to other families can greatly benefit the community.

5.3 In addition to this, any change in law or policy would be incomplete without adequate sensitivity training being given to law enforcement agencies and other departments who come in contact with LGBTQIA+ individuals when they are at their most vulnerable. Hence, sensitisation programs to police and prison authorities, district and state legal service authorities, judiciary as per the order of the Madras High Court dated 07-06-2021 in Sushma and another vs Commisioner of Police and others is the need of the hour. The State of Tamil Nadu can rest assured that the signatories to this note, and community leaders at the grassroots level will render any assistance required to facilitate these programs.

Thanking you,

Representatives of
Kattiyakkari, Nirangal Charitable Trust, Orinam, SAATHII, Sahodaran, Tamil Nadu LGBTIQ Movement. Thozhi, and Trans Rights Now; and individual activists

தமிழுக்கு இங்கே கிளிக் செய்யவும்

Image credits: Gokul

A Report on the findings from a closed door public hearing on April 1, 2023
PDF report is available in
English | Hindi | Marathi | Bengali

Organised by PUCL and National Network of LBI women and Transpersons
17th April, 2023 The Supreme Court hearings in front of the five-judge Constitution bench headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on Marriage Equality start tomorrow. These proceedings have generated a lot of interest all over the country and the world, but even more so has set many queer and trans hearts racing in multiple ways, and not similarly. It is with this precise moment in mind that PUCL and the National Network of LBI women and Transpersons are releasing this report to the public today.

This report is not about Marriage Equality, though the right to marry is one of the recommendations made by the panelists. But this report is very much about the lives of the queer and trans persons whose rights will be debated not just in the Supreme Court, but all around us, in the media, on the streets, in houses and where you have. The voice of the State has already become clear in the invocation of sanskar, sacrament, and such like in the defence of the cis and heterosexual marriage and family. There is a slew of voices all around defending the existing structures of families and opposing the right of not just queer and trans persons, but also inter-religious and inter-caste heterosexual couples to live as they desire.

This moment therefore, is as much about families, and not just about marriage. While the focus is on the demand for marriage equality for queer and trans folx, the legitimacy given to assigned families is as much under question. Chosen families and intimacies cannot be thought of without also looking at the reality of what assigned families do to their queer and trans children.
This report is about the families that are assigned to us and those that often are the biggest road blocks to being able to live the way we want to. The families that are supposed to be spaces of nurture, care and support, turn against their own children (often at very young ages), treat them with utter disregard and violence, and force them to conform to socially accepted ideas of what is “normal” without any regard to the individual’s dignity or personhood. Stigma and violence run deep within the space of these families that are assigned to us at birth (or adoption).

A closed-door Jan Sunwai or Public Hearing on Familial Violence on Queer Trans People was organised by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), along with the National Network of LBI (Lesbian, Bisexual, Intersex) Women and Trans Persons (The Network) to bring these concerns in to focus was held on April 1, 2023 before an eminent panel of judges, lawyers, academics and activists. 31 queer and trans persons testified in front of the panel. The focus of the testimonies was on the relationship with the assigned (natal) families and the various struggles that the testifiers had undergone to be able to live their lives.

Today we bring to you this report, Apnon Ka Bahut Lagta Hai, with the findings and recommendations of the Panel which comprised of: Retd. Hon Justice Prabha Sridevan, Chennai; Asif Iqbal, Co-Founder, Dhanak, Delhi; Divya Taneja, Special Cell for Women and Children, Mumbai; Kavita Krishnan, Feminist Activist, Delhi; Manjula Pradeep, Anti-Caste Feminist Activist, Ahmedabad; Mihir Desai, Senior Counsel, Mumbai; Paromita Chakravarti, Feminist Academic, Kolkata; and Veena Gowda, Feminist Lawyer, Mumbai.

The community and civil society organisations included in the Network are: Nazariya: Queer Feminist Resource Group (Delhi), Sappho For Equality (Kolkata), Sahayatrika (Thrissur), Orinam (Chennai), Raahi (Bengaluru), QT Centre (Hyderabad), Hasrat-e-Zindagi Mamuli (Mumbai), Vikalp Women’s Group (Vadodara), SAATHII (pan-India), and unaffiliated individuals.

Click here for PDF report

IN THE MEDIA: ARTICLES ASSOCIATED WITH THE JAN SUNWAI REPORT, THE PRESS CONFERENCE, THE BORAH  PETITION AND ADV VRINDA GROVER’S INTERVENTION
(most recent first)

1. Saranya Chakrapani. Indelible mark on psyche: new report reveals violence LGBTQ community faces from families.
   YourStory. May 1, 2023.
   https://yourstory.com/socialstory/2023/05/new-report-reveals-familial-violence-on-queer-youth-community
2. Rituparna Borah. Marriage Equality: Family Means Everything, But So Does Chosen Family.
   The Quint. April 28, 2023
   https://www.thequint.com/gender/chosen-family-queer-and-trans-persons-life-marriage-equality
3. Article 14. Our Own Hurt Us the Most: Familial Violence in India
   Youtube. April 27, 2023.
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfr7lCbn10k
4. Namrata and Shreyashi. Marriage equality – petitions, pushback and politics.
   Varta. April 26, 2023
   https://vartagensex.org/2023/04/26/marriage-equality-petitions-pushback-and-politics/
5. Rajiv Shah. Queer, trans persons ‘testify’: Marital rape, forced marriage, threat of disinheritance>
   CounterView. April 26, 2023.
   https://www.counterview.net/2023/04/queer-trans-persons-testify-marital.html?m=1
6. Sayan Bhattacharya. Marriage equality: What good is symbolic recognition of one’s relationships sans rights?
   Down To Earth. April 25, 2023.
   https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/governance/marriage-equality-what-good-is-symbolic-recognition-of-one-s-relationships-sans-rights–88940
7. Namita Bhandare. Marriage equality: How the case impacts us all.. 
   Hindustan Times.  April 23, 2023.
   https://www.hindustantimes.com/ht-newsletter/htmindthegap23042023.html
8. Vivek Divan. Overlooked in the marriage equality conversation: The marginalised among LGBTQI community. Indian Express : April 20, 2023
   https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/overlooked-in-the-marriage-equality-conversation-the-marginalised-among-lgbtqi-community-8566506/
   
9. Pragya Singh. ‘Family Must Go Beyond Blood and Marriage’—Petitioner in Marriage Equality Case. NewsClick. April 20, 2023
   https://www.newsclick.in/family-must-go-beyond-blood-and-marriage-petitioner-marriage-equality-case
10. Chayanika Shah. In Marriage Equality Case, Queer and Trans Persons Assert Right to Define Family
    NewsClick. Apr 20, 2023
    https://www.newsclick.in/marriage-equality-case-queer-and-trans-persons-assert-right-define-family
11. Sabrang India. Our own hurt us the most: Familial violence in the lives of queer & Trans persons within marriage equality debates  Sabrang India. April 18, 2023.
    https://www.newsclick.in/marriage-equality-case-queer-and-trans-persons-assert-right-define-family
12. Mihir Rajamane. Petition Explained: Marriage Equality under the Special Marriage Act and Freedom from Violence by Rituparna Borah and others March 31, 2023.
    https://mihirxr.wordpress.com/2023/03/31/petition-explained-marriage-equality-under-the-special-marriage-act-by-rituparna-borah-and-others/
13. Anmol Arora. The petition you need to know about from the same-sex marriage hearings that start today LiveMint. April 18, 2023.
    https://lifestyle.livemint.com/relationships/it-s-complicated/the-petition-you-need-to-know-about-from-the-same-sex-marriage-hearings-that-start-today-111681805877468.html
14. Shreyashi Ray.Beyond Marriage Equality: Chosen families and the right to live our lives as we are.
    Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. April 18, 2023.
    https://vidhilegalpolicy.in/blog/beyond-marriage-equality/
15. Poushali Basak. The Fight for Saving Queer-Trans Lives Is More Than Just Securing Equal Marriage Rights. The Wire. April 12, 2023.
    https://thewire.in/lgbtqia/queer-trans-deaths-equal-same-sex-marriage
16. TheNewsMinute.Marriage equality alone will not free queer persons from violent families: Civil society orgs. The News Minute. April 3, 2023.
    https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/marriage-equality-alone-will-not-free-queer-persons-violent-families-civil-society-orgs

However, those of us who have experienced violence from natal families as queer/trans persons or groups and collectives working in crisis response know how oppressive and violent such family units can be. Forced marriage to other-gender individuals, house arrest, curative rape and other forms of conversion therapy are all ammunition in the hands of natal families trying to make their (adult) offspring conform to the straight, cis and narrow.

A few of us (members of queer collectives focused on issues of cis queer women, trans and intersex persons) have been working together for the last couple of months to file an intervention in the “same sex marriage case” currently in the Supreme Court. We are happy to share with you this petition filed on behalf of some of us working with the communty over the last 30 years as well as some queer trans couples.

Unlike some of the other petitions, our pleas are essentially based on the extent of violence that queer and trans folx have to face from their natal/assigned at birth families and the fact that this violence continues even as we try to build our lives away from them. The arguments are built on the enormous experience of familial violence that we all have and we are looking at the SC to understand this and to give us some rights to lessen the control that these families have over us, even as adults.

So besides marriage, we are also asking for the removal of the notice period as it exists in the Special Marriage Act as of now, but more crucially, we are also asking for the court to recognise that those of us who choose to be / are single, or do not wish to marry, also need the right to appoint person/s of choice who can act on our behalf when the need arises, instead of our assigned families, who often choose to ignore our wishes when they assume control in our lives in times of need.

This petition has been possible due to the collective experiences and the consultations over time that we have had especially as LBI women and trans persons. We are happy to share the petition with all of you.

Click here for the petition WP260_2023

Click here  to read the letter.