By Saine Paul:
“They knew I was gay. They were watching me and waiting. They filmed the whole thing and threatened to tell the police.”
Last year in Mumbai, a 31-year-old marketing professional was followed by two men into a public toilet and forced to perform oral sex on them. He was then taken to an ATM and forced to withdraw Rs. 15,000/- cash.
Though attitudes towards homosexuality have undergone significant changes, it would be naïve not to acknowledge that it is still a divisive issue even today in many parts of the world. Deeply entrenched homophobic and transphobic attitudes in society often combined with the absence of adequate legal safeguards against discrimination expose the LGBT+ community in all regions of the world to flagrant human rights abuse. Under such circumstances, legal provisions like Section 377 of the IPC perpetuates and feeds the already existing homophobia and hate crimes committed against these people, marginalising them further.
In India, the LGBT+ community suffers human rights abuse and discrimination both at the hands of the state and the society. Extortion, illegal detention and physical abuse by the police, discrimination in schools, hospitals, and mistreatment by public in general is not uncommon. Homosexuality is still considered a mental illness or disease and administering behavioural therapies including electric shock treatment, psychiatric drugs and hormones to cure homosexuals are still in existence.
Justice, we must understand is not an abstract legal theory. It is not a footnote in a legal compendium. It is not institutions in isolation; it is a necessary combination of just institutions and actual correspondent behaviours that make a society reasonable and fair. It is about how our laws affect the daily reality of people’s lives. As Amartya Sen pointed out in his book ‘Idea of Justice’ and I quote “What happens to people must be a central concern for a theory of justice”.
In this era of 21st century, in a democracy like India, there is no room for a provision as vitriolic and intolerant as this one. India has always been about diversity, differences, debates and discussions. In such context, it is important to assert here that queer freedoms are primordial and inseparable to a broader culture of respect for dissent and difference. Indispensable to such a culture of respect in the social context is the idea of acceptance and solidarity. It is imperative to accept the difference as a natural phenomenon and not a psychological issue. The freedom to love is fundamental to an individual’s existence and knows no boundaries. It cannot be constrained on the grounds of an individual’s sexual orientation. It cannot be compartmentalised. However, this cannot exist in isolation and has to be fleshed out by other substantial rights that are fundamentally recognised under the constitution.
The state has no legitimate power to either determine or regulate people’s private morality in a pluralist country. Rather, a state that upholds equality, liberty and justice under its constitution has a duty and an obligation towards its people by eliminating discriminatory practices and extending equal protection of the law for each member.
The recent decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India to refer the curative petition challenging the constitutionality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code to a Constitution Bench has given the LGBT community some hope. Section 377 was decriminalised by a two-judge bench of the Delhi High Court in the seminal case of Naz Foundation vs Government of NCT of Delhi. The judgement held that treating sexual activity between two consenting adult individuals of the same sex is a violation of the right to privacy and dignity which is implicit in Article 21 of the Constitution. The court also held the law arbitrary as it creates an unreasonable classification based on no intelligible differentia and targets homosexuals as a class, thus violating the fundamental right to equality under Article 14. However, on December 11, 2013, the apex Court went a step back in history and gave a severe blow to the homosexual community and their age-old battle for legitimacy by overruling the decision of the Delhi High Court. Hence the curative petition.
One could only hope that the apex court takes no more years than what it took to realise that the issue poses questions with “constitutional dimensions of importance” and finally upholds the citizen’s fundamental right.
The Hulk
The hijra community harasses people in weddings, on railway stations, in buses, on road sides, at traffic signals, etc. Every pervert is free to practice his/her perversion in private, not publicly. If you do it publicly, then don’t whine when there is a backlash. And please don’t give excuses for it because they “feel” a certain way. That is what criminals say when they indulge in necrophilia, paedophilia, incest, and other perversions.
B
Homosexuals cannot procreate, so they can never have their own children – That is unnatural. And if they adopt, their children will either have two daddies or two mommies – That is unnatural. Gays can only satisfy their sexual desire through anal sex – That is unnatural. (I am sure you don’t need me to tell you that the anus is not designed for penile penetration). I have nothing against homosexuals, but it is natural to question the unnatural. In movies, blogs, and the media, homosexuality is being ‘normalised’ so that we get used to abnormality.
Of course, nothing abnormal comes without a hidden feminist agenda:
“Heterosexual intercourse is the pure, formalized expression of contempt for women’s bodies.” – Andrea Dworkin
“Feminism is the theory, lesbianism is the practice.” – Ti-Grace Atkinson
I became a lesbian because of women, because women are beautiful, strong, and compassionate – Rita Mae Brown
“When a woman reaches orgasm with a man she is only collaborating with the patriarchal system, eroticizing her own oppression.” – Sheila Jeffrys
“All sex, even consensual sex between a married couple, is an act of violence perpetrated against a woman.” – Catherine MacKinnon
Daredevil
God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve
Pratiek
It was not unnatural for me to see the homophobic comments to this review, so like always ill be making your concept clear all mr.adams and miss.eve!
With all due respect and understanding through your comments, one thing i can see is “You guys cannot digest others happiness”. Well i dont even care what you say! I am here to give you the best answer ever you might have never expected!
Okay tell me what is natural?
Well someone said in the comments, that a baby born from a women and a men intercourse is natural! So this logically means, that straight couples who have intercourse but due to some reason they ain’t able to procreate, means they are unnatural!? Just like two men or two women or say two individuals (cuz at the end all are humans).
Well this to my hindu brothers and sisters who say that this is against our religion. Well do you know ayyappa swami? The hindu god from kerala, well he was born when lord shiva and lord vishnu mated! Now it seems that you might feel it is a lie! Dude get your facts clear, go Google! You’ll get the best information. And well in our religion sati, dowry, and other orthodox malpractises were legal back then! It was all normal, but dont you think that was conflicting human rights and individuals self dignity, its the same case here.
And “hindu scriptures have depiction of homosexuality, since the beginning”
It is said in bhagwad geeta that “prakruti evum vikruti”• that means •”what seems to be unnatural is natural”
Well now lets get on some logical terms “if a man and a women relationship is natural” why do we have so much increasing divorce rates, rapes and female torture in the country? It seems even they are not working fine!
And also you say hijras torture you on a signal, railway station etc! What kind of torture buddy? Do they touch your provate parts? Or do they abuse you? Umm i bet they would never! I hope you understand that they might just tap ur back! And its all fine, they are not untouchables! Even they are humans; and the reason they have to work at station/ marriages, its all because of you all who feel and keep chanting they are different! The discrimination they face and much more. They do not get jobs easily. But still u guys behave in a way which is totally unnatural
Keeping it tought and simple “Our constitution is just an evolving constitution, which garuntees equal rights to every citizen” so you guys better dont worry, i am sure “section 377 will be unconstitutionalized in the coming year”.
Scientific justification: “even 99.999% of scientist have claimed homosexuality to be totally natural” and ‘if you say science is wrong, i am sorry buddy you are playing with the biggest irony’
And even the world psychology and psychiatric department has removed homosexuality from mental illness but has put homophobia as a mental disprder! So u guys need a treatment to accept people as they are.
Coming to lay man terms, “someone said it was adam and eve and not adam and steve” lol dude get a life “we dont need just adam and steve, lets make it steve and george and adam and ram or say geeta and parvati”.
Well anyways homosexuality helps in adoption “when you hear that a kid was found in the dustbin, girl child was killed” dude that what we call is unnatural and totally disrespecting the nature, if you dont want the child “give it to us, we will adopt them and give it a beautiful life, atleast it is much better than to be killed”, also remember the way you cannot turn gay/lesbian is any way its the same way we cannot turn straight’ yeh dil hai ki manta nahi, aur yeh dimag bhi straight banna janta nahi!
Anyways my mom dad were all straight and i turned gay! Its not just because you think its just a phase, its like i am proud about my sexuality and i dont even care what you say! “When a elephant walks in pride, dogs do bark at him, but still the elephant is unique”
-homosexuality is found in all breeds of animal kingdom, human being at the top in the kingdom is the only animal, in which we find homophobia!
Mysterious
1. Hijra and homosexuality is not the same thing.
2. God also created animals who portray homosexuality and why does anyone’s sexual orientation affect you and why should you be able to say it’s “unnatural” we as human race are yet to evolve we don’t know LOADS of things about ourselves nothing proves that heterosexuallity is natural and homosexuality is not.
3. Some feminists don’t understand feminism and seriously FUCK them feminism is about being equal and they instead bash men in the same of if and are unaware of the definition of feminism.. As a women I appreciate REAL feminists who would rather help out abused women and understand the real meaning if it which is EQUALISM instead of those attention seeking “turned lesbian” in the name of feminism who basically hate them.. They should know by doing so they are further increasing the difficulties of homosexuals and females in general. DUMBASSES