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other courts”.
that there is something about each and every human being, simply as a
“Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this
In view of the above the present study tried to know how gays and
the homosexuals are aware of their rights and fight for these rights.
184
No 87 79.09
Yes 5 4.55
87
90
80
70
No. of respondents
60
50
40
18
30
20 5
10
0
No Yes Can't say
The above data points out that 16% respondents did not want to say
attitude towards them. This shows that in a traditional society like India,
10% Yes No
90%
Charter declared that United Nations shall have for its object, inter alia,
“to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights.” Article 1 states that the
human rights and for fundamental freedom for all without distinction as
In view of this, the above data shows that 90% respondents were in
favour of special political rights for them whereas 10% were not in favour
of such rights for them. This shows that gays and Lesbians are aware of
the rights given to this community all over the world and want these
Neutral 20 18.18
85
90
80
70
No. of respondents
60
50
40
20
30
20 5
10
0
Strongly agree Do not agree Neutral
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When probed further about rights given to them, the above graph
shows that 77% respondents were strongly in favour of legal rights given
to them to rear children, whereas 4% did not agree and 18% of them were
include ‘rights to live’ liberty and security of the person, freedom from
India; explores every dimension of the issue. It underlines our worst fears
lesbians and transvestites at the hands of the law and the police. But their
community in India.
188
Yes No
15, 13.64%
95, 86.36%
Yes No
15, 14%
95, 86%
95, 86%
were neutral and the remaining 9% reserved their comments on this issue.
Looking at the data it can be said that in this 21st century, this community
Yes No
12, 11%
98, 89%
2nd July 2009 is a significant date for anybody who follows social
movements and its interface with the legal system in India. The Delhi
High Court passed a judgment on the popularly known Naz Foundation
petition decriminalizing homosexuality in India. It declared that in so far
as IPC Sec 377 criminalizes consensual sexual acts of adults in private, is
violative of Articles 21, 14 and 15 of the Constitution. (Para 130 Page
105 of judgment) Certain observations may be made.
v The judgment uses the public health rhetoric, arguing that because
HIV/AIDS is reaching the proportions of an epidemic in India,
therefore it is logical to decriminalize homosexuality. This will
allow MSMs (men having sex with men) to come out of their
closet without the threat of being harassed or arrested and test HIV.
This is important because many MSM have heterosexual
relationships also and thus the danger of public health disorder.
194
This is the reason why the Health Ministry in India has been one of
the Chief proponents of decriminalization together with the fact
that NACO (National AIDS Control Organization) is one of the
petitioners to the case.
Unnatural 85 77.27
Immoral 15 13.64
Anti-religious 10 9.09
85, 77%
The data shows that 77% homosexuals were of the opinion that
people believe that such relations are unnatural, 14% said it was immoral
In the sexual union of men and men and women and women, there
There is no baby, there is no larger family with moral and ethical values
heterosexual marriages. But people have been doing so for years and may
no doubt continue to do so still attempting to redefine "marriage" as
including two homosexual males or two lesbians is like taking away life
always between a man, a women, not between two men or two women
has been firmly ingrained in the minds of most of the people. And in most
societies where people have not been quite sensitized or educated to the
fact that two people belonging to the same-sex can get married.
197
15, 14%
35, 32%
198
interfere with the sexual preferences of its citizens. 14% believed that
intention of this Article is that every person is equal in the eye of the law.
Then why homosexuals are not treated equally with heterosexuals? This
Article provides us equal protection of law and says that the basis of the
unnatural sex is that those sexual activities that are performed for
procreation are natural and those that are not performed for procreation
are unnatural. Now the Individuals have become more independent and
rational. For them, procreation is not the main aim of sexual activities.
two persons of same sex i.e. homosexuals. Thus, this provision of IPC
with the private personal activities and personal liberty of the individual.
all the varieties of rights that goes to make up the 'personal liberties' of a
person. The central idea behind the concept of personal liberty and
sake of happiness. This Article also says that a state cannot deprive any
person from his personal liberty and privacy according to the procedure
established by law. Therefore, someone can say that sec 377 can restrict
200
Article 21 must be right, just and fair and not arbitrary, fanciful or
oppressive, otherwise, it would be no procedure at all and the requirement
procedure at all.
constitution, which says that those laws which are inconsistent with
Fundamental Rights, must be void. Sec. 377 of IPC is therefore void. Not
the whole section is void; one part of this section is void and after
amended.
201
42%
40%
The present study tried to find out about the cases of divorce or
separation of homosexual partners. 18% respondents were of the view
that since the law in India does not recognise this union, therefore there
are few cases found. 2% had an idea of few such cases whereas 40% had
no idea. From amongst our total respondents, 11% were divorced. They
58, 53%
22, 20%
When asked about the above, it was found that 53% respondents
make Will for inheritance of their assets, whereas 27% follow the
50
50
36
40
No. of respondents
30
20 14
10
10
0
Blood Relations Sexuals Homosexual Charity
Partners organisations
33% would write WILL in the name of their sexual partners and only a
very small percentage, i.e. 9% would like to WILL in the name of blood
relations. This shows that due to neglect by their own kith and kin, they
Yes 10 9.09
No 87 79.09
87, 79%
resolve mutual disputes between them and help them in court settlements,
79% respondents refused, 9% had an idea and 12% argued that there are
Yes 20 18.18
No 54 49.09
49%
The above data point out that 49% respondents knew about the
8, 7%
82, 75%
African Court held that, privacy recognizes that we all have a right to
community. Even at the international level, the right to privacy has been
letting the researcher know about their partners. 18% had partners and
Yes 22 20.00
No 20 18.18
20, 18%
68, 62%
Yes 88 80.00
80%
One of us 85 77.27
Child Adoption
(n=110)
23%
77%
about the legal father and mother, 77% were of the opinion that one of
Yes 85 77.27
No answer 25 22.73
Legal Status
(n=110)
Yes No answer
25, 23%
85, 77%
In India, the homosexuals are not given any legal status. 77%
respondents believed that the adopted child may become the claimant of
their property whereas the rest did not give their views on the subject.
decades ago, where Ms. Tarulate underwent a female to male sex change
operation and changed her name to Mr. Tarun Kumar. He later married
Ms. Lila in 1989. But Lila's father filed a petition in the High Court
2006, police arrested four men accusing them of operating an online "gay
which portrayed two sisters-in-law who fell in love and left the family
into which they had been married, a number of otherwise lesbian groups
"Campaign for Lesbian Rights". Many women living in the USA must be
familiar with Deepa Mehta's 'Fire' which was showed in U.S. cinemas in
besides lesbian groups, feminist and leftists individuals and groups. The
campaign moved with a new urgency when lesbian partners of five years.
recently attempted suicide and only one survived. This was the latest in a
long list of suicides which has been reported in the Indian press since the
1980's.
The campaign has already held a series of actions, and has many
more plans to take place over the coming year. On January 9, the
for a discussion entitled, "Free lesbianism and other issues". About forty
people attended.
deceased gay activist Siddhartha Gautam with a gay and lesbian film
the context of the festival on myths and realities about lesbians, legal
public places on myths and realities about lesbians and gays. They
ventures.
213
was reported that the response was generally positive when the film 'Fire'
reopened in cinemas in Delhi on February 26. Campaign members were
has been on the books since the British colonizers first put it there in the
nineteenth century. Attempts to repeal this law have been made since
1991, but have never had such support behind them. The current support,
and the campaigns' current momentum, bode well for the future of lesbian
in India.
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Support of NGOs
(n=110)
Always Sometimes Never
5, 5% 20, 18%
85, 77%
Our data shows that 77% respondents agreed that their NGOs help
them in fighting for their rights sometimes, 5% were refused such help
One of the objectives of the present study was to know about what
25 respondents were upto the age group of 30 yrs whereas the rest were
When asked about their support for same sex marriage in India,
those who were between the age group of 20-30 years 18 were in favour
of such marriages whereas from amongst those belonging to higher age
group, only 12 were positive. It can be said that if younger people are
more accepting to gays than older ones, it seems that we can expect more
positive attitude towards homosexuals over the period of time.
their opinion, the younger people did not believe in this whereas the
people become less tolerant as they age. They are more homophobic
because they were born and raised at a time when gay rights were non-
existent. According to them they did not fit into a tidy category. Those
who were above 60 years of age believed that GOD THE ALIMIGHTY
Total Sample : 50
Lot of educated people are cool about it but are still very transphobic, the
The famous people who are gays and Lesbians are now coming
forward and face media. “Proud to be Gay” says Apple CEO. In has not
said he is proud to be a gay and counted it “among the greatest gifts God
has given me”. He further says “Being gay has given me a deeper
understanding of what it means to be in the minority.... it has made me
more empathetic.... which has led to a richer life.... and to rise above
adversity and bigotry”. Cook becomes one of the high profile public
figures to come out at a time when the United States is increasingly
considered illegal in many of its states since 2003. Several public figures
case in India, the wife exposed his gay husband by the help of hidden
coming out because he was reminded of Dr. Martin Luther King’s words
about what one is doing for others. Cook doesn’t consider himself as an
activist but he realizes how he has been benefitted from the sacrifice for
others. “So if hearing that CEO of Apple is gay can help someone
struggling to come to terms with who he or she is..... Then it’s worth the
2012 said “The fact is, I’m gay, always have been, always will be, and I
couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable with myself and proud.” Actor
Popstar Ricky Martin came out in March, 2010 blog post on his
Actor Jim Parsons (Big Ban Theory’s Sheldon Cooper) came out
in May, 2012 in a New York Times profile that said “Mr. Parsons is gay
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