source: The Hindu (click image for link)

Last week we read the news that Afsana Khatun, Bina Kalindi, Mukti Majhi, Sangita Bauri, and Sunita Mahato, all school-going girls from Purulia district of West Bengal, had been honoured by President Pratibha Patil for refusing child marriage. For more information see coverage by The Hindu and their remarkable individual stories at the India Current Affairs portal.

Lesbian, gay, trans* and some bisexual people from all communities and socio – economic strata in India continue to be bullied by our families and forced into marriages that we are not interested in or unable to honour. These marriages, though not outlawed, are as unethical as child marriage. Resisting such marriages requires precisely the sort of courage that these girls from Purulia demonstrated.

We would like to hear accounts by you, our LGBT readers, of how you resisted attempts to force you into marriage. In lieu of Presidential awards, we will be happy to host your narratives on Orinam.net!