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.

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.

However, such proclamations are not new. A report by the Observer Research Foundation found that such efforts have a long legal history rooted in social movements and public interest litigations. As recently as September 2019, a High-Level Group on the health sector constituted under the 15th Finance Commission not only recommended that the Right to Health be declared a Fundamental Right, but that Health be also shifted from the State List to the Concurrent List. While the latter recommendation may posit its own constitutional and administrative challenges, swift and progressive actions must be taken soon because India’s expenditure on public health is still abysmally low (it was just 1.29% of the GDP in 2019-20) and accessibly remains a dream for many. A study found that while only 3% of all major illnesses in Indian metro areas remain untreated, 12% of the same were untreated in less developed villages. Moreover, one-fifth of all diagnosed major illnesses among the scheduled tribes were also untreated. These data point to unaddressed inequalities along the lines of geography, class, caste, and tribal status.

While much has been written and said about the rural/urban divide, unequal access to hospital spaces for people with disabilities, and caste/class-based exclusions, etc., very rarely are queer people’s exclusions from the healthcare sector discussed or addressed, especially outside of the context of HIV/AIDS. And this problem becomes more complicated when one factors in the many intersections that undergird queer people’s experiences. Thus, one could be queer and disabled, or queer and working class, and thereby face additional forms of marginalisation which are rarely (if ever) acknowledged.

A 2021 article in the Swaddle accurately points out that within the healthcare sector, most HIV/AIDS interventions targeting queer and transgender people viewed their issues as primarily biologically determined. The social and cultural dimensions were rarely factored in. And the NGOization of HIV/AIDS prevention programmes in India has increasingly reduced complex problems like HIV/AIDS infectability and care to a numbers game. The social, cultural, and economic determinants that either deter people from accessing HIV/AIDS care (such as social stigma, a lack of awareness, etc.) or those that make medical spaces structurally inaccessible are rarely addressed in such corporatised interventions. Mental health care for queer communities, while noble in their endeavour, also typically fail to engage with these wider socio-cultural issues. The very epistemology of psychological practice in both India and the West is cis-heteronormative and rooted in queer oppression. As illustrated in a Psychology Today article, the time has come to “queer ”psychology in order to effectively engage with queer populations in more inclusive and affirming ways. While the APA (American Psychology Association) released an important book in 2017 to do exactly this (called “Teaching LGBTQ Psychology: Queering Innovative Pedagogy and Practice) it is unsure whether the Indian counterpart has plans to do anything similar.

As is well known, The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. Thus, health is to be viewed holistically and must include physical health (such as the issue of HIV/AIDS care addressed above), mental health (such as the issue of ‘queering’ psychology), and social health (the issue of inclusion and equity).

Some ways to achieve greater health equity for the queer community in India are as follows:

• ‘Queering’ Indian Psychology: Following the heels of the APA, the Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS), which is the oldest & largest organization of psychiatrists and allied mental health professionals of India needs to come together to put forth an Indianized version of ‘queer’ psychology that takes into account the unique cultural and political dimensions of the Indian queer identity. Such an initiative needs to ask complex questions like: what are the mental health implications of casteism in India and how does it affect DBA (Dalit Bahujan and Adivasi) queer people? In what ways do police militarization in places like Kashmir and the North East affect the mental health of residents, and what is its impact on queer populations in those regions? To answer these questions, Indian psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, gender specialists, and social psychologists (to name a few) must come together. Other issues that come to mind are religious persecution, the rise of right-wing nationalism, and the impact of increasing authoritarianism on queer people’s mental health.

• Creating healthcare systems that are welcoming and inclusive: A lot has been said about the unwelcoming nature of hospital settings. People with disabilities, for instance, have routinely called out Indian hospitals, doctors, and insurance providers for their blatant ableism. Gender discrimination in healthcare access for cis women in India has also been well documented. The time has come to reimagine and challenge the way these health systems are conceptualised. And even small changes can make huge differences. For example, having gender-neutral bathrooms, and offering medical insurance policies for same-sex couples are a few ways in which healthcare systems can be more inclusive.

• Training and sensitization programmes: The medical curricula in Indian medical colleges need to be re-engineered to factor in topics around diversity and inclusion. Medical staff also need to be sensitized about the vulnerabilities that marginalized people such as gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, and non-binary patients (to name a few) might face while entering hospital settings. For instance, it is a fact that incidents of HIV/AIDS infection are higher among MSM (men who have sex with men) in India, yet these people are afraid of disclosing their sexual history for fear of judgment, ridicule, and shame. Thus, hospital settings need to be very vocal about their non-discrimination policies and communicating this is the hospital’s responsibility.

• The Role of Mass Media: Mass media plays an important role in shaping perception. For far too long, the Indian media has shied away from addressing the complex cultural, social, economic, and emotional deprivations faced by the queer community. Given that queerness was- until recently- perceived as a criminal offense and mental illness, it is important for the media to re-mold people’s perceptions by positively addressing the needs and aspirations of queer people. For instance, one major challenge that queer people face is accepting one’s own identity. And even today, many queer people and their family members seek medical interventions to “cure” what they believe is a pathological illness. Thus, it is incumbent upon the media to debunk these myths for the public once and for all.

Various other interventions also exist. Civil society organizations can be strengthened, collaborative government interventions are possible, and medical oversight bodies can be established across the country that could acts as watchdogs for medical malpractices such as ‘conversion therapy’ and ‘corrective rape’.

Indeed, the challenges are many and the solutions complex, but with collective action and iron-clad willpower, change is possible.

Further reading

C-SHaRP: Readings on stigma and discrimination faced by hijra and kothi persons in HIV/AIDS-related contexts: [link]

Narrain, Arvind and Vinay Chandran (2016). Nothing to Fix: Medicalisation of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Sage Publications [link]

Dutta, Sayantan (2021) Trans and Queer People in India Should Demand Better Health Care.
Scientific American [link]

In 2018, the Supreme Court of India decriminalized consensual and private same-sex relationships in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India- – a landmark judgment that overturned the Supreme Court’s own ruling in Suresh Kumar Koushal v. Naz Foundation which upheld the now notorious Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Even though the Navtej judgment was momentous, it was merely the first step in the long fight for LGBTQIA+ equality- a step that should never have taken the Indian courts so long in the first place.

But even after Navtej, the journey for LGBTQIA+ acceptance has not been easy in India, especially for those living in small towns and rural areas. A lack of LGBTQIA+ friendly-spaces and radio silence on the issue of sexuality and gender identity has made it difficult for not only society to accept the LGBTQIA+ community, but also for LGBTQIA+ people to come to terms with their own identities. But in spite of these challenges, LGBTQIA+ activists across the country have continued to work tirelessly to change laws and mindsets alike. Back in 2017 (even before Navtej), Opposition party politician Dr. Shashi Tharoor tabled an anti-discrimination and Equality Bill in the Indian Lok Sabha that is comparable to the Biden Administration’s recently introduced Equality Act. However, unlike Biden, Tharoor wasn’t able to pass his Bill, ostensibly because of its radically transformative nature.

More recently, the BJP-led Central Government slammed efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in India by responding rather acerbically to three separate petitions seeking to secure these very same rights. The Government stated same-sex couples in India did not have the fundamental right to marriage because the Navtej judgment merely decriminalized ‘a particular human behavior’. Rather, the Government said, marriage in India should remain restricted to ‘biological men and biological women’.

The Government’s counter-affidavit also claimed that “Western ideas cannot be imported to the Indian context”; yet failed to prove how the idea of same-sex marriage was inherently ‘Western’. In fact, the terminologies of “western”, and “eastern” themselves are contested and require significant academic deconstruction. To merely claim that something is “western” or “eastern” is indeed a sign of intellectual laziness. The Government’s argument falls apart further when one considers the curious cases of two Asian, non-Western countries– Taiwan and Thailand. Taiwan not only legalized same-sex marriage back in 2019 but is now on track to legally recognize international same-sex marriages . Thailand is also considering expanding the scope of marriage to also include same-sex relationships. Moreover, rich historical and sociological evidence of the existence of same-sex marriage in India has been well-documented by scholar Ruth Vanita in her 2005 book Love’s Rite: Same-Sex Marriage in India and the West. This affirms that there is nothing quintessentially ‘western’ about same-sex marriage in India.

Two more of the Central Government’s arguments are grossly egregious. The first has to do with the Government’s labelling of sexual orientation as a “particular human behaviour” and the second is the Government’s idea of marriage as constitutive of a union between only ‘biological’ men and women. If we consider the first argument, we see that the Government’s line of reasoning is false because sexual orientation is not a behaviour, it is an integral aspect of one’s identity. Here is an excerpt from the Navtej judgment that drives this point home: “Sexual orientation is immutable, since it is an innate feature of one’s identity, and cannot be changed at will. The choice of LGBT persons to enter into intimate sexual relations with persons of the same sex is an exercise of their personal choice, and an expression of their autonomy and self-determination.” So, if one’s orientation is indeed intrinsic to one’s being and concomitantly, can’t be changed, then why should homosexuals be denied the same legal rights that their heterosexual counterparts enjoy- which includes the legal recognition of marriage? Ironically, arguments of ‘behaviour and choice’ are never made against heterosexuals because they constitute the majority in society, so much so that their sexual orientation is not only seen as the de facto ‘normal but also codified in multiple personal laws in the country that recognize various forms of opposite-sex unions. Yet, not a single law in India exists that recognizes LGBTQIA+ unions.

I wonder whether it is even morally justified for a country that prides itself (no pun intended) in the diversity and the multiplicity of its people, to deny a large section of these very same people equal rights?

The Government also claims that marriage can only be between a “biological man” and a “biological woman”, yet fails to define what a ‘biological woman’ is. In 2019, the Madras High Court ruled that the meaning of the word ‘bride’ in Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act “cannot have a static or immutable meaning”. Rather, it had to be expanded to include not just biological women, but also Transwomen, Transgender people, and intersex people. The Court further opined that the Constitution was a living document that needed to evolve with changing times in order to be relevant; furthermore, in Shafin Jahan v. Asikan K.M., (2018) it was already decided that “the right to marry a person of one’s choice is integral to Article 21 of the Constitution”. Why then, were these progressive arguments not made to grant equal rights to same-sex couples? Expanding the scope of marriage to same-sex couples does not take away anyone else’s rights. Rather, it makes for a more inclusive and diverse family unit. For a community that routinely experiences stigma, discrimination, and ostracization in Indian society, legalizing same-sex marriage would have been one way of rectifying historical wrongs. To argue that same-sex marriages could somehow cause “complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country” (as the Government has also stated in its counter-affidavit) is gaslighting, plain and simple.

It isn’t surprising that valiant displays of compassion, courage, and love still threaten the small-minded and cold-hearted.

Thanks for translation and/or review to Vivek and Janani (Tamil), Rucha Satoor, Dharmakirti Sumant and Radhika Murthy (Marathi), Ruhaan Ali and Shyam B. (Hindi), Dadapeer Jyman and Naren Pai (Kannada). Assamese, Bengali and other translations are in progress.

Note: This article and its translations are community-created and owned resources, and may be shared widely, so long as the link to the original article https://new2.orinam.net/locked-down-safety-self-care-queer-trans/ is included in the republished posts. Updated versions and additional translations will be updated at this URL.

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LOCKED DOWN IN THE TIME OF COVID-19:
SAFETY AND SELF-CARE FOR QUEER AND TRANS PERSONS

The lockdown induced by COVID-19 has caused many of us to be stuck in abusive households with our natal families, or feel otherwise isolated.  We have compiled some tips for safety and self care during these difficult times. These are not intended to be exhaustive. 

1. We may feel even more isolated and vulnerable now than before the lockdown. Being in close contact with our friends and support systems, if at all possible, can help us.
2. In case there are other (less hostile) family members in the area we can explore the option of going and staying with them.
3. Some of us may be at home and have no option to leave. In that case it may be good to try and avoid escalation of issues, such as those around gender/sexuality or marriage.
   If topics of marriage do come up, we can reassure ourselves that the lockdown will prevent  parents from taking us to meet potential partners or inviting prospective grooms or brides at this point in time.  
4. In case of risk of physical threats, we should try to stay as close to the exit door and far away from objects that can be used to assault/harm as possible.
5. If we  have a smartphone,  we can send our location to people we rely on, via WhatsApp or other means. It will help others to reach us in case of emergency.
6. It’s a good idea to keep some cash and our important  official documents handy with us (examples include Aadhaar, PAN, Voter identity card, passport, copy of ration card, Trans Welfare Board identity card, workplace-issued ID, bank passbook, academic certificates, etc.).
   
7. For those of us who experience gender dysphoria, this can be particularly severe if family members force us to dress in ways conforming to assigned gender. Avoiding looking in the mirror may help a little in reducing our distress. If we have photos of ourselves in our gender presentation and preferred clothing, we may consider looking at these. It also helps to have a presence on online platforms where we can be ourselves, such as Second Life and peer WhatsApp groups.  More options for gender dysphoria- related support and interventions will become available after the lockdown.

 
SELF-CARE TECHNIQUES

This section is based on our experiences as community members, peer counselors and/or therapists.

Anxiety and fear during the pandemic can be accompanied by restlessness, agitation and reactiveness, all of which may be temporary or may add to more long-term anxieties. In times of crisis it is immensely important to be aware of our energies, notice our restlessness, anxiety, fear, etc.  

These feelings and emotions are valid and yet, are quite likely to be difficult to deal with. They will come and go multiple times a day. To manage these, so that we experience their full range but prevent ourselves from reacting, here are some suggestions:

DURING A DIFFICULT INTERACTION

• If we are able to convey to the person(s) around us that we need to step away, it will give us an opportunity to go to a safe place (bedroom, veranda, bathroom, terrace).
• If stepping away is not an option, we can try to ground ourselves [for e.g. by holding on to an object or squeezing a piece of clay] and focus on processing and responding carefully, rather than reacting spontaneously in a way that we may regret later.
  
• If we do end up reacting impulsively, it is important to remind ourselves that we are going through hard times, and to be easy on ourselves.  When we find ourselves back in a safe space, that may be a good time to introspect and figure out how to proceed in future.
• We need to find ways to remind ourselves  that the lockdown is a temporary situation, such as marking the duration of the lockdown on a calendar.
• Distracting ourselves with other tasks or activities can help.  However, we need to remember that shelving the difficult emotions may cause them to return later at unexpected times. The subsequent sections “Returning to a place of calmness” and “General practices for emotional well-being” outline  some ways to express our emotions so they don’t pile up.

RETURNING TO A PLACE OF CALMNESS 

Once we are able to step away from the interaction that was stress-inducing, here are some ways in which we can return to a state of calmness. Each of us can find a technique that works best for us.

• Holding on to an object, article of personal value or toy can offer us  a sense of comfort and safety. Sometimes it helps to just keep some clay or atta in the hand and keep squeezing. 
• Listening to our favorite music or reading a favorite author can help.
  
• If we have a dog or pet, petting it can be soothing.
• We can practise some form of breath work to cope with emotions – focusing on deepening and lengthening the breath: such as  three seconds inhale, one second pause, three seconds exhale, trying to increase the duration of the exhalation to a few more seconds than that of the inhalation.  While doing this breath work, we focus on the sensation of the breath, how they feel in the body, etc. More information and links are in the ‘Other Resources’ section of this document.

GENERAL PRACTICES FOR EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING

• Starting the day with useful activities and chores can keep our minds occupied and give us a sense of control and fulfilment.  These activities could include exercise, cleaning, washing clothes, arranging rooms: anything that does not need too much thought. While engaging in these activities, it helps for us to keep our focus on the task at hand, and address any challenges that arise in a problem-solving/strategizing manner. For example, while cleaning or  arranging items on shelves, we focus on where to keep what, what items can be kept together, etc. 
• Productive activities such as studying, working, learning  a new language or skills can also help give us a sense of accomplishment.
  
• Noticing sensations (sigh, smell, touch, taste, hearing) while engaging in these activities helps us remain in the present moment. When we become aware that our thoughts have gone to the  future or past, worries, etc., we can bring the mind back using the sensations of the present.  
• An additional benefit of these activities is that they can help us build our safe space and limit difficult and potentially hostile interactions with other people.
• It helps greatly to make breath work (as described in the previous section) a part of  our daily routine.
  
• Physical exercise along with breath work or other kinds of meditation help us to release pent-up energy of any kind in the body.  Good cardio- and weight training can be done at home even if there is very limited physical space. Many video links are available online: some are linked in the ‘Other Resources’ section below. 
• Writing,  sketching, painting,  music, are some of the ways that help us to express our emotions.  
  • An example of  a writing exercise is to set aside a desired time period to write continuously without taking pen off paper.  While writing, if nothing comes to mind, we can just write “can’t think of anything.“ 
  •  Another example of a writing exercise would be to create stories featuring us in the way we see ourselves.

AUTHORS AND CITATION

This document emerged from discussions during a SAATHII-organised Zoom webinar on  LGBTIQA+ crisis response held on March 21, 2020, and subsequent discussions on the LGBTQIA+ 4 Mental Health WhatsApp group. The author list is arranged alphabetically by last name. Our suggested citation format is: 

Balasubramanian1,  S., Banerjee2, S.,  Borah3, R.,  Raju2, A., Ramakrishnan4, L., and A. Sarkar4 (2020).  Locked Down in the Time of Covid-19:  Safety and Self-care for Queer and Trans Persons. https://new2.orinam.net/locked-down-safety-self-care-queer-trans/

• Shyam Kamala Balasubramanian is with the Orinam collective, and based in Coimbatore
• Shilpi Banerjee and Avanish Raju are with Being Myself Clinic in Gurugram
• Rituparna Borah is with Nazariya: a Queer Feminist Resource Group, Delhi
• Amrita Sarkar and L. Ramakrishnan are with SAATHII in Delhi and Chennai, respectively

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Every  Saturday, Nazariya QFRG organises zoom calls with queer women and trans* persons to check in about their mental well being. Do write to nazariya.qrfg@gmail.com to know more about these meetings.   Similar online meetings for LGBTIQ+ persons are being organised by Good As You  in Bangalore (https://www.facebook.com/goodasyoublr)   and Orinam  (orinam.net@gmail.com) in Chennai. SAATHII offers information and peer support via helpline@saathii.org

OTHER RESOURCES 

Books, Articles and Manuals
Banerjee, Shilpi and Raju, Avanish (2018). Stress Toolkit. Being Myself Clinic, Gurugram. Online at https://new2.orinam.net/stress-toolkit/

Great Good Science Center (undated)  Mindful Breathing. University of California at Berkeley. Online at https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/mindful_breathing

Kabat-Zinn, Jon (2013) Full Catastrophe Living (Revised Edition): Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness.  Bantam Books, New York. ISBN-10: 9780345536938, ISBN-13: 978-0345536938

Videos on Mindfulness

Kabat-Zinn, Jon (2020)  Mindfulness, Healing, and Wisdom in a Time of COVID-19. Online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2efOoRF_pw

Segal,  Zindel (2016) Three-Minute Breathing Space. Online at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amX1IuYFv8A&feature=youtu.be

Kabat-Zinn, Jon (2011) The Healing Power of Mindfulness: talk at Dartmouth College. Online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_If4a-gHg_I

Videos on Physical Fitness

Lewis, Lita (2018) 30-Minute HIIT Cardio Workout with Warm Up – No Equipment at Home | SELF. Online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml6cT4AZdqI  

Fitness Blender (undated) Free Workout Videos. Online at https://www.fitnessblender.com/videos

Taking this as a possible way of also tabling the issues around family laws faced by queer people, some of us, queer feminist LBT* activist individuals and organisations also made a submission to the LCI in July 2018. Our recommendations attempt to expand and alter the notion of family and also flag some issues arising out of the NALSA judgement. We share these here to broaden the debate and welcome comments and discussions on these issues with others.

July 10, 2018

To

Law Commission,
Justice Dr. B S Chauhan

 Subject: Response to Law Commission on Uniform Civil Code

We are a group of feminist organisations and individuals who have been working with lesbian and bisexual women and trans persons and are also part of the larger women’s rights movements in the country. Details of our work and backgrounds are attached with this letter.

Many of us have been part of discussions and debates on gender justice in family laws. We have all been working with communities that do not usually get covered by the ambit of family laws, and yet who get affected directly by laws around inheritance, custody and adoption of children, which are directly under the purview of personal laws.

In the last few years, there have been many debates around different assertions of gender and sexuality in society and very often in the courts as well. The latest judgement that has given relief to a large number of citizens and which is hailed as a landmark ruling is the verdict given by the Supreme Court in April 2014 in NLSA vs Union of India and ors. In this verdict the Supreme Court upheld the right of “transgender persons right to self-identified gender” and directed “the Centre and State governments to grant legal recognition of gender identity such as male, female, or third gender.” It also directed the Central and State Governments to take measures to safeguard their fundamental rights.

In this judgement the esteemed court looked at and referred to some of the Yogykarta Principles and said that “ Principles . . .  including Yogyakarta Principles, which we have found not inconsistent with the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Indian Constitution, must be recognised and followed, which has sufficient legal and historical justification in our country.

We would like to highlight in the context of the debate and enquiry on the Civil Code or on laws related to marriage, divorce, inheritance, custody and guardianship Principle 24 of these Yogyakarta Principles.

PRINCIPLE 24. The Right to Found a Family

Everyone has the right to found a family, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Families exist in diverse forms. No family may be subjected to discrimination on the basis of the sexual orientation or gender identity of any of its members.

States shall:

a) Take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to ensure the right to found a family, including through access to adoption or assisted procreation (including donor insemination), without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity;

b) Ensure that laws and policies recognise the diversity of family forms, including those not defined by descent or marriage, and take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to ensure that no family may be subjected to discrimination on the basis of the sexual orientation or gender identity of any of its members, including with regard to family-related social welfare and other public benefits, employment, and immigration;

Since the Law Commission is looking at issues related to Uniform Civil Code, we use this context to give suggestions for changes within family laws so that justice is done to all citizens of this country and the mandate of the Supreme Court verdict is also adhered to.

Our submissions can be classified under two heads.

1. Issues in family laws that have cropped up since the Supreme Court recognised genders beyond male and female and also that self identification is the way to determine a person’s gender.
2. Issues arising especially with respect to key decisions and choices in lives that are not approved by natal families.

Collectively, we have a vast pool of experience in both these areas and we explicate below our concerns and our specific requests for inclusion in the laws related to the personal and the family. These are essentially insights that we have gained as part of our larger struggle for getting equal rights for all citizens of this country.

1. Issues related to Transgender persons’ rights in existing laws:

As soon as gender identities are recognised, there are issues that come up in the context of family laws and we would like to highlight them and request you to address them in your report on the civil code or family laws as the case may be.

The family is an institution where the gender roles are well defined and laws reflect some of these notions of gender practice at the level of the family even today. All our family laws clearly identify a person by their gender. It could be in terms of differential inheritance for sons and daughters, or it could be different clauses as reason for divorce for husband and wife, or it could be ability or inability to be declared guardian of the child.

When there are such clear directions based on the gender of the person concerned, there obviously arises the question of what happens if the person’s identity is neither man nor woman? Also if the person chooses a gender identity that is different from what they have been assigned at birth then how do these criteria affect their other rights and responsibilities in their familial roles? We urge you to look at the following incidents which are all concerns of people that we have been in touch with.

1A. Issues related to marriage and divorce:

Marriage is defined as possible between a man and a woman within all laws. Even though Hindu law speaks of marriage between two persons, it actually throughout speaks of husband and wife thus assigning specific genders to the two persons in marriage. The SC verdict says that people can self identify as “either male, female, or transgender/third gender”. All people today are assigned either male or female at birth and so the self identification means that at some point a person might self identify in a gender different from that which they were assigned. This creates some issues around marriage laws.

a. Two people are married under any personal law or the Special Marriage Act. If at some point in their marriage, one of them self identify as a gender different from the one they were at the time of marriage, with full consent from their spouse, and if they want to continue to live together in the marriage, how would their rights as a couple to be recognised as parents of children, to being considered as family in any employment or insurance or property related right be protected?

V and A married under the Hindu Marriage Act and now have a child. V has transitioned from male to female with the consent and full knowledge of the spouse A. V and A plan to stay together and remain married, and raise their child together. They are worried about the legal validity of their marriage if V changes her legal gender to female, in accordance with her physical transition.

b. In our reading of the law if a person self identifies a gender within the binary (that is  if they were assigned male at birth but self identify as female or vice versa), they shall be considered a man or a woman and hence can get married under the law. This needs to be clearly stated so that people access formal systems of marriage and do not suffer because they did not register their marriages formally. We give below a recent case of a trans man and his wife who suffered because he did not get the required legal protection of the law and the family to survive through their differences.

C, a trans man ,was in love with a woman H. He proposed to her and she married him with full knowledge of the fact that he was a trans man. Both their families knew about this marriage and relationship. Post marriage, C went through his transition surgery in the same hospital where he worked with his wife nursing him. The couple also went in for IVF to get a child but were unsuccessful. C supported his wife’s family financially and also helped her set up a beauty parlour. Through this whole period they did not register their marriage. Subsequently, H fell in love with a cis man. Her family started dissuading her from keeping her relationship with C and also taunted C for not being a ‘real man’. C and H separated. One day C went to meet H in her beauty parlour to ask her to restart the relationship, she firmly refused. In frustration C doused himself in petrol and lit a fire right there and died a week later.

c. What are the provisions for a transgender person who wishes to marry a cis man or a cis woman? We know of many instances of such marriages especially of hijras marrying cis men and unable to register these as marriages. Some have even tried to do so and failed.

1B. Issues related to inheritance:

In some of our existing laws there is a differential treatment between sons and daughters of a family and also difference between male and female relatives. The question that transgender persons are asking today is that in case they transition, will their inheritance rights change as per these laws? Also if they identify a gender different from male and female then what will be their inheritance rights?

The same person cannot have different rights because they identify in a different gender. The debate here for us is not of identifying the “true” gender of the person and giving them rights as per that.

As we understand this is actually a case for demands for gender equality in all laws, a demand that has been raised by women’s groups and women’s rights advocates for a long time. We believe that self identification of gender actually unravels before us the social construction of gender. In a secular democratic country where the Constitution assures no discrimination based on sex, such differential laws do not make sense.

So we hope that all inheritance laws are made equivalent and irrespective of the genders of the persons in the familial relationships.

1C. Issues related to Adoption:
Adoption and guardianship laws are also gender dependant. This affects the rights of those who already have children prior to their transition and also those who wish to adopt children. In recognising the full civil rights for transgender persons, right to adoption and guardianship is an important aspect that needs to be looked at.

As per the new CARA guidelines and changes within the J J Act, a man cannot adopt a girl child while a woman can adopt a boy child. How does this clause apply to trans men and trans women? What about a person who identifies as transgender or third gender? Can they adopt a child of any gender?

Again as in the case of inheritance, we think that the law should not be gender dependant. If there is fear of CSA and the redressal for CSA under POCSO is gender neutral, this clause makes no sense at all. We urge that the adoption guidelines be made gender neutral.

To conclude, all of the above situations arise from the fact that currently in India we have recognised the fact that people can self identify a gender different from the one assigned to them at birth. At the same time along with male and female, there is recognition of other genders as well. This immediately suggests that a number of laws need to be altered or formulated afresh so that an already neglected and marginalised community of people gets full access to rights as citizens within the country.

We understand that most of the family laws are religion based and there may be a problem in amending all of them to take into account these realities. Changes within the special marriage act to accommodate some of these concerns and also making of secular inheritance and adoption laws accessible to all citizens irrespective of the religion that they are assigned at birth, in our opinion seems to be the way in which many of these dilemmas can be addressed.

2. Issues related to key decisions in lives not approved by natal families.

In the work that we do, and in many of our lives, we find that our support systems and care networks are very different from our natal families. Often when people make choices in their lives that are distinct from those that their families want them to make, they make support systems that draw upon others not necessarily the natal family. This could be friends, other people like them, or other community spaces like the hijra households. In case of those assigned female at birth this happens more often since parents and even the State often see unmarried “daughters” as incapable of taking decisions about their lives.

We have many instances of how families control people’s lives in multiple ways. From the point of view of families, it is done in the notion of looking after the welfare of the adult person concerned but in effect it means being the medium to impose societal ideas of normative gender and sexuality. The methods used are often very harmful and very difficult for those who resist and get out and assert their choices.

When a trans man started expressing his gender identity and dressing as a man his family thought he had been possessed by a demon and took him to the local exorcist. He stayed with this exorcist for days and was sexually abused, often to the point of losing consciousness. The exorcist even offered to marry him. Realising how wrong the entire situation was, he ran away and returned home, where his parents weren’t happy to see him. They forced him to wear a burkha and locked him inside a room for months. The situation was such that, he had to run away from his natal home.

R is a single child of her parents. She is in her late twenties and from a town in Assam. She works as an assistant professor in a college. Her father is the principal of the college. Her family has recently come to know about her sexual orientation as a bisexual woman. She is constantly kept under surveillance. Her father has setup a CCTV camera in her room. She is forced to hand over her entire salary to her father as soon as she receives it. She encounters mental torture from her natal family members every day. We have found out about this person recently and she is still in contact.

A woman X and a trans* person Y, both taxi drivers were in a deep friendship with each other. Their messages were intercepted by X’s family. She had to run away from home and started living with Y. Due to the pressure of the family she even gave a statement to the police that she had run away. Within a few days the family came and abducted her back with full support of the police. They confiscated all her papers, her certificates, her driving license and kept her under house arrest. She managed to run away and come back but the organisations supporting her had to fight a hard battle with the police and the family to get all her papers back so that she could continue to drive her taxi and live independently with her friend.

G was a 22 year old trans person who was assigned female at birth. G wanted to start their medical transition but their parents did not support them through this. They managed to get some organisation’s support and approached a doctor. The doctor, however, also refused saying that they could not start any procedure including administering of hormones without the parents’ permission. Feeling helpless G jumped off a four storey building and killed themselves. This is a case from May 2018.

These are just a few of the many examples that we have come across of the nature of family violence against people asserting their gender and sexuality related choices. They are subjected to many punishments like physical and mental abuse, sexual abuse, corrective rapes, humiliation, house arrests, denial of education and other entitlements, disinheritance from property, abandonment and neglect, forceful medical corrections like ECT and administering of harmful drugs, forced marriages and pregnancies, and many more.

Many people do not manage to get enough support to survive all this and build a life of their choice. Either they succumb to live lives dictated by others or are forced to end living. Some of us do manage to survive through this all and make a life for ourselves with the help of others, often people in similarly precarious life situations as themselves. These others who are the support structure, however, do not have any legal recognition.

Hence, at some point of vulnerability like a bout of physical or mental illness or any other crisis, the natal family steps in to take decisions and force these on the person while completely denying the established support structure to be involved in this decision making. This is often in violation of what the person themselves may choose.

Two persons lived together for six years. At a time when one of them went through a mental breakdown partly due to their family’s disapproval of their life, the family swooped in forcibly taking decisions about health care and separated the two. It took many friends and supporters and a lot of negotiation with the hospital authorities and the family to be able to assert the fact that the two people were living with each other consensually and that it was unjust to do this separation.

A trans man and his partner lived together for three years. The woman partner had a child while they were together and they both brought the child up together. On the sudden death of the woman, the trans man had to struggle to claim their child as his own because the natal family wanted to establish their  kinship and take the child from him.

P ran away from an abusive home at the age of 18 to be able to live in her self identified gender identity and found home and support in a hijra gharana. At the age of 24 she suddenly died. Her family was informed and as soon as they came they took charge of the last rites for P. They dressed her in male clothes, cut her hair, and finally did her last rites as their son with the name they had given her. None of her large family of grieving hijras and other friends and activists could prevent this from happening.

It is evident from these examples that for many of us our natal families (by birth or adoption) may not really be the people we want to leave our property, earnings or loans to; we may not see them as taking over care functions in times of debility and disability; we may not see them as deciding for us at times of medical incapacity and so on. Instead we may want to appoint person/s who we think can take care of our material, medical and other needs during our lifetime and after death.

To help resolve these situations we suggest that there be some way by which people are legally able to announce the names of the persons who can take decisions for them or who they feel are better suited  to be called their “legal representatives” rather than the ones legally acquired through blood.

The “Legal Representatives” shall act on our behalf in life and death in matters related to:

• Choice of profession
• Choice of living arrangements
• Choice of nominees
• Choice of custody of minor children
• Choice of heirs
• End of life decisions

We request the Law Commission to issue guidelines for people to register their legal representatives through affidavits or other methods which are accessible and easy to execute with a standard format.

This option be made available to all those who are not in marriages recognised by law.

These are some preliminary suggestions from a few groups and individuals who have been working with and living such lives for many years now. We urge the Law Commission to seriously consider these lived realities and suggest changes in family laws to account for these lived realities. We also wish to impress upon the commission the need for very large consultations with many others across the country so that all citizens can avail of just laws related to family.

Thank you.

Chayanika Shah. LABIA – A Queer Feminist LBT Collective, Mumbai
Minakshi Sanyal. Sappho for Equality, Kolkata
Maya Sharma. Sabrang, Vadodara
Rituparna Borah. Nazariya – Queer Feminist Resource Group, New Delhi
Rumi Harish. Alternative Law Forum, Bengaluru
Deepti Sharma, New Delhi
Jaya Sharma. New Delhi

Contacts: dialogues.diversity@gmail.com, orinam.net@gmail.com

TRANSGENDER-AFFIRMING GUIDELINES FOR INDIAN WORKPLACES

Two community collectives, Orinam in Chennai and Diversity Dialogues in Bangalore, have launched a guide for employers  who seek to make workplaces inclusive and welcoming of transgender employees, and support employees who are choosing to come out as transgender.

Being transgender, intersex, non-binary or genderqueer (henceforth transgender+) is a challenge to finding and retaining education and employment in India. The few individuals who manage to acquire education and access to employment opportunities constantly face a choice between affirming their true (gender) identities and staying in long-term careers.

Many workplaces in India are already likely to have transgender+ individuals working with them. These individuals, who may have been recruited through mainstream recruitment channels and are actively contributing to the business, may not openly identify as transgender and are perhaps living and expressing in the gender assigned at birth, and are forced to conform/pass as cis-gender. Some others may be transgender and living in their preferred gender(s), without disclosing their gender assigned at birth.

Very few employers in India are known to be inclusive of transgender+ individuals and/or allow/support their gender affirmation within the company.

Orinam believes that “Organizations committed to diversity and inclusion need to create a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for transgender+ employees, both existing employees and new recruits, to be recognized in their gender, and create channels for requesting support if and when required.”

“Affirming the gender of transgender employees, with respect to inclusive policies and benefits, is an essential part of creating an inclusive environment. The resource guide from Orinam and Diversity Dialogues is an attempt to encourage HR professionals or business leaders to implement the guide and build inclusive practices towards the transgender+ community.” said Diversity Dialogues.

“As transgender+ persons we go through unnecessary scrutiny at interviews or otherwise. People sometimes think it is their right to ask deeply personal information about our genitalia, about our sex lives, about our transition surgeries. While all they should be caring about are our names and pronouns, treating us like regular individuals. The guide provides essentials about culture and acceptable behavior required for organizations to be transgender+ affirmative”, says Aditya Batavia, who works at an Indian retail conglomerate, and identifies as a man.

“As a transgender person and IT professional, I have had to refrain from potential job opportunities, faced micro-aggression, and been denied client-facing moments because of my identity/expression. The anxieties and fear of discrimination, difficulties in finding another job, and risk of losing livelihood prevent many of us transgender+ people from revealing our true gender and force us to live dual lives. Post- the NALSA and 377 verdicts it’s the right time for business community to pitch in and address discrimination faced by transgender+ community in their organizations as they now have moral and legal obligations to ensure a safe, inclusive and healthy workplace“, says Kanaga, a transwoman working as Domain consultant for a large Indian IT services provider

“Understanding issues related to transgender identity at work place (just as other issues related to diversity and inclusion) is a layered matter which will have to be revisited and updated from time to time and experience to experience. An open and embracing attitude and kindness is the key. I feel this document clearly shows the sincerity and hard work put into recognizing core issues related to transgender persons’  inclusion at workplaces and is very beautifully put together” says Shyam Balasubramanian, an assigned female at birth transgende, transmasculine person, who works as a DFT engineer in the semiconductor/chip design industry.

Most of the recommendations in this guide are relevant to all institutions: corporates, not-for-profit NGOs, government departments, public sector undertakings, or any other.  The guidance around acknowledging self-identification of transgender persons flows from the directives of the Supreme Court of India’s landmark 2014 ruling on transgender rights in National Legal Services Authority vs. Union of India and Ors.

The guide is dedicated to  the memory of Anannya Krishnan, a transgender woman in Chennai who was part of the Orinam collective. Despite a promising career as a pharmacologist in the  drug safety vertical of a Chennai business, Anannya faced numerous struggles to find a place to live, and have her family acknowledge her gender identity. These struggles proved too much to handle, and she took her life on Dec 30, 2017.

Diversity and inclusion is an intent and can be implemented by every organization, irrespective of nature of work, size, scale or anything else. The recommendations in this guide urge organizations to embark on this journey.

The guide may be downloaded here.

Also view: Employers’ Guide to Making Indian Workplaces LGBTIQ+ inclusive and Videos on LGBT+ inclusion at Indian workplaces

Follow Diversity Dialogues on Facebook , YouTube and instagram @dialoguesdiversity

Follow Orinam on Facebook and Twitter @chennaipride, and visit our website www.orinam.net

When all citizens are freed from the shackles of prejudice and oppression based on their gender, gender expression, sexuality, religion (or lack thereof), caste, ability, age, ethnicity, region of origin, and language, then we will truly have reason to celebrate independence.

The findings of her study are available here. The abstract of her study is presented below, from genderdiversityandschools.in/research-design/

“I present the results of a first of its kind qualitative study to understand the experiences of queer students during their K-12 education in India. “Queer” signifies various counter-heteronormative identities apart only from lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender (Narrain and Bhan, 2005; Menon, 2008). Using semi-structured interviews with self- identified queer persons of <=25 years of age, focus group discussions and expert interviews, I develop a coding scheme based in grounded theory and guided by Olweus’ (1993) definition of bullying.

I find that: 1. Gender non-conforming students are labelled as gay, lesbian or transgender and are bullied verbally, physically, sexually and relationally by students, teachers and administrators, regardless of their actual sexual orientation. 2. Perhaps, due to the androcentricism and invisibility of female sexuality, gender non-conforming PAGFB are subjected to less bullying than gender non-conforming PAGMB, up to a certain point. 3. Schools are sex negative with little or no sexuality education, and no policies prohibiting bullying. Complaints are either trivialized or bullied students are blamed for bringing this upon themselves by being gender non-conforming. Bullied participants report isolation, depression, fall in grades and educational aspiration, suicidal ideation and increased absenteeism but many also excel academically and in co-curriculars. Some love school as it is the only place that they can be themselves. Participants and experts suggest that comprehensive sexuality education and inculcating equal respect through effective school and state based policies may create more inclusive school climates.”

I attempt a model “Anti-Discrimination and Sexual Rights” policy based on my findings, legal decisions and suggestions from participants and experts.

Click here, or on the image below to go to the website:

Editors’ note: This post has been added to Orinam’s compilation of resources for educational institutions in India, at https://new2.orinam.net/resources-for/educational-institutions/

Asmita came out to herself at age 12, while a student in her hometown in Bardhaman. Growing up, she internalized prevailing notions that homosexuality was unnatural. “But later when I started gaining more and more knowledge, I started understanding and getting my identity clear”, she says.

A national-level badminton player and photography enthusiast, Asmita has been actively involved in campus activism around gender-based discrimination.

When asked about her decision to represent AISA, she said “AISA gave me a platform to uphold my identity in front of the students of JU”, noting that Left parties had, by and large, responded positively to LGBTIQ+ issues. Incidentally, the first reported out LGBTIQ+ candidate, JNU’s Gourab Ghosh, also contested as a Left party candidate in 2013.

As a key election issue, Asmita is championing the cause of LGBTIQ+ acceptance in society, both on- and off-campus. She wants to counter myths that same-sex desire and transgender identities are unnatural, and to mobilize public opinion against Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. She strongly feels that basic sex, gender and sexuality education, including LGBTIQ+ issues, should be given to school-going students. She asks that admission in educational institutions be accessible to all, based on their aptitude, with no discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

Asmita said that JU is relatively LGBTIQ+ friendly as Indian university campuses go, and she has not personally faced any problem on campus due to her identity. She noted that transgender people face much more difficulty. She also questioned the prevailing practice of marking all transgender people as “third gender” on admission forms, a category that not all identify with.

Other issues in Asmita’s election manifesto include proper functioning of the Gender Sensitisation Committee against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) on campus, and 24×7 availability of sanitary napkin vending machines in all women’s restrooms.

Her accomplishments notwithstanding, Asmita has a long way to go. She is not yet certain about the profession she would take up in the future. Her parents still do not accept her. “I still need to struggle with my family and in neighborhood to [get them to] cope with my identity”, she signs off.

* Readers: please let Orinam know if there have previously been any other out queer women students contesting campus elections in India.

A comprehensive list of Orinam blogposts on educational institutions and LGBTIQA+ issues is at https://new2.orinam.net/resources-for/educational-institutions/from-the-blog/.