Hello and welcome to Mind the Gap, a newsletter that adds perspective to the gender developments of the week.
THE BIG STORY: A step forward in Tamil Nadu for gay rights
Tamil Nadu has become the first state in India to officially ban the harassment of LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex) people by the police. Harassment by the police, which is routine especially for transgender people, is now a punishable offence.
âWe have been fighting for so many years to get our rights,â said transgender rights activist Grace Banu who welcomed the move. âThere are many cases every day of physical, mental, verbal and sexual violence against trans people from which we have no protection. This will at least provide some measure of protection.â
Despite guarantees of equality enshrined in our Constitution and a slew of affirmative judgements by the Supreme Court including NALSA and the decriminalisation of homosexuality, social acceptance of the LGBTQI community on the ground remains sketchy.
Often acting at the behest of parents, law enforcement continues to be weaponised with threats of custodial violence against the community.
Madras High Court shows the way
In March 2021, a lesbian couple asked the Madras High Court for protection from the police and their parents who had filed a missing persons report when the adult women fled from Madurai, where their parents lived, to Chennai where they had the support of an NGO, International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care.
But even in Chennai, the women feared that they would be forcibly separated by their families and, so, sought the courtâs protection.
After interviewing the couple, their parents, the NGO and, eventually, a counsellor, Justice N Anand Venkateshâs first step was to order mediation and counselling. Next, he asked the police to close the missing personsâ complaint and not interfere.
The judge who wanted to be âwokeâ
With unusual candour, Justice Venkatesh admitted that he was âtrying to break my own preconceived notionsâ and began educating himself under the guidance of a trained counsellor about issues around sexual orientation and the lived experiences of LGBTQI people.
âUltimately, in this case the words must come from my heart and not from my head and the same will not be possible if I am not fully âwokeâ,â he said.
Laws alone are not enough unless there is âawakening in the societyâ. To this end, Justice Venkatesh issued a set of guidelines in the expectation that various departments and institutions would implement them.
These included directions to the police to close inquiries filed by parents of missing adult consenting LGBTQI children. It asked the government to enlist and publish a list of NGOs that had experience and expertise in LGBTQI affairs. It asked shelter homes to provide safe accommodation to members of the community who needed it. And it asked the government to take up measures âneeded for eliminating prejudicesâ, including those within law enforcement, schools and colleges, health workers, work places, and the judiciary.
Way forward
Tamil Nadu has a history of progressive policies when it comes to the LGBTQI community. It is the first state to introduce a transgender welfare policy under which transgender people could access free sex reassignment surgery.
In 2019, it became the first in Asia and the second globally to ban sex selective surgeries on intersex infants.
Also in 2019, following the decriminalisation of homosexuality, the Madras High Court ruled that the term âbrideâ under the Hindu Marriage Act included trans women.
âThe DMK government in particular has a history of being open and accepting,â said writer and researcher Nadika Nadja, a transwoman. âThe latest Tamil Nadu order banning harassment of LGBTQI people comes from that tradition.â
The order will help sensitise police and prevent acts of aggression that trans people are subjected to. It will lead to media using more respectful and dignified language. âThe judges are listening to us. The government is listening to us. We can only hope that things will be better in the future,â Nadja said.
Grace Banu said she hoped other states would follow Tamil Naduâs example. But added that the punishment for harassing the community should have been made clear. And, she said, there is still a lot of work to be doneâreservations in jobs, for instance.
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