Is The Queer Community Free?

After a long time of struggle, the Supreme Court finally agreed to lift the colonial-era ban on gay marriage on Thursday, 6th September 2018, and make Section 377 unconstitutional in India. This meant, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and sexual activity between same-sex couples were thereby considered legal.

In the five-member bench of the Supreme Court, Indu Malhotra who read out four concurrent verdicts on 6th September said that “History owes an apology to the members of the LGBTQ community and their families for the delay in providing redressal for the ignominy and the ostracism they faced through the centuries.”

Not too long ago, same-sex marriage was illegal in India. But, aside from the law, it did not stop thousands of LGBTQ members of India to come forward as queer. The LGBTQ community fought together side by side through different types of events. Every year, the month of June is considered as the ‘Pride Month” where the LGBTQ people gather together in different cities to show off their pride for who they are and through that trying to make people socially aware of homosexuality and trying to get acceptance by the society in the form of activities like parades, parties and hosting the rainbow flag ( which is the flag associated with the LGBTQ community). But even through that, they all had the fear of getting arrested.

The removal of Section 377 changed the lives of millions of Indians who belonged to the LGBTQ community in some way or another. Coming out to the world as a non-heterosexual is a task in itself. In a world where heterosexuality is the default sexual orientation, often when a person comes out as gay or lesbian or queer, they are generally criticized as different, abnormal, or an abomination to their family or society. But the legalization of same-sex marriage gave all those people a whole different inspiration, a new hope where even though their family and friends might not support them, but the government will and the country will. Many people were open about their sexual orientation and about who they were, long before the removal of section 377. But also many were in a serious relationship with their respective partner and they finally got to legalize their love through marriage.

By – Anisha Sen

Content: https://www.ctclearinghouse.org/topics/lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgendered-and-questioning-lgbtq-individuals/