From the archives: New sexual revolution
While people in the metros are exposed only to homosexuals that form the upper crust of society, it is the villages and smaller towns that attract the majority of sexual minorities classified as kothis, Hijras, double deckers and jogappa-all with the draconian Section 377 hanging over their heads.
"Kanoon anthe kanoonu, avrappandanthe kanoonu", loosely translated, would mean: "The law, it seems, belongs to their fathers". For sexual minorities in India, with barely any rights to speak of, a mainstream that ignores them, police and goons that harass them and a government that prefers to look the other way are all equal culprits. That was the sentiment that dominated the north Karnataka conference on sexual minorities' rights last week.
There were also representatives from Goa, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, all with the common view that "it's important to let the mainstream know that we exist, you can't ignore us". Pent-up frustrations and a society that will not treat them as equal have given rise to many self-help groups that form the core of the new activism.
While people in the metros are exposed only to homosexuals that form the upper crust of society, it is the villages and smaller towns that attract the majority of sexual minorities classified as kothis, Hijras, double deckers and jogappa-all with the draconian Section 377 hanging over their heads.
A law that criminalises sex with the same gender is a useful tool to harass sexual minorities. Admittedly, prosecutions are almost negligible, but the harassment continues.