Queer relationships and Natal Family Violence: WP 260 of 2023

The Union Government of India seems to hold the notion of  ‘Indian family unit… with  a husband, a wife and children” sacrosanct, as detailed in their opposition to the marriage equality petitions.

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