Here to stay

Harish Iyer champions a spectrum of causes — from LGBTQ and animal rights to building awareness against child sexual abuse. Following the Supreme Court’s (SC) verdict of September 6 that decriminalised homosexuality, he tells BL ink , over the phone from Mumbai, why this is only the first step, and the real work involves taking the fine print of the verdict to every person in the country.

The Supreme Court has decriminalised homosexuality. Your first feelings, and thoughts on the way forward?

It’s just sinking in now... The legal sanction by itself seemed like a Herculean task. The more difficult task will be rooting out societal prejudice. We are already at it. We’ve started reaching out to more people, letting them know the fine print of the verdict, through interactions and talks.

We’re letting people know it is perfectly legal to fall in love, express it, and that no one can police our private lives.

The SC has asked the Central government to spread information on the verdict and educate the masses. I have zero hopes in the Central government taking the instruction seriously. There isn’t one official tweet from the BJP acknowledging the verdict. We need to understand the silence from certain sections of society. There are different ways of showing homophobia. Silence is one way.

Of course, there are those like Subramanian Swamy, for instance, who says he will have a seven-member bench to overturn this ruling. But that’s going to be very difficult for anyone, because the verdict is so detailed and comprehensive in all aspects. All have congratulated our victory.

Now we are here to stay.

Should the next step involve giving equal rights to the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) community under matrimonial and parenthood laws, domestic violence laws, property laws, et al?

The first need is for stringent anti-bullying laws, anti-ragging laws and anti-discrimination laws. Whether it’s discrimination in schools or the workplace, this needs to be made punishable. We need to overhaul our education system, introduce children to a range of sexualities, so they don’t grow up into bigots. We need to work on widening acceptability at a micro level. Next, issues such as property and inheritance laws come into focus, followed by the rest.

Of course, we need equal marriage laws but that’s another battle altogether. Under which Act will LGBTQ individuals marry one another? The Special Marriage Act or Hindu, Muslim or Christian marriage Acts? Religious fundamentalists will say we are destroying the fabric of marriage. Since our existing laws and structures are patriarchal in many ways, fighting for equality as an LGBTQ will be a tough call.

How far will the SC ruling go in enabling social sanction to LGBTQ people at the grassroots level, in smaller towns and rural communities?

I think this will take time. Civil society and Members of Parliament should put in the effort to get funds for education and awareness-building in rural pockets.

The important thing is to make a change wherever the LGBTQ community exists. If you have the privilege of being “out” and about, be loud about it. If we could all just be “gay enough” in our housing societies and say that we’re not going to take discrimination lying down, then it will bring about a great deal of change in people’s awareness.

There has been criticism that the gay movement has so far been an elite gay man’s party. How can it be made as inclusive as possible?

That’s true. It should begin with an acknowledgement of the divisions that exist within the LGBTQ community today. There are cisgendered male members who actually rule the roost. You need more voices. You need to learn to share your spaces and newly earned voice. Don’t speak for others when they can. Be there without being patronising.

Diversity apart, there are other complexities too. What about the representation of the transgendered Dalit male? Or the disabled gay Muslim? The discrimination is often layered and profound. We need to give voice to these complex identities. That comes only with education and building personal narratives.

The media has done a fantastic job in bringing about inclusion. The English language media has taken the path of advocacy and protest, rather than debate on the issue of Section 377.

This is also a time to watch out for “pink washing”. You can’t just take a progressive stand and avoid doing anything on the ground. Yatra.com had put out a trans-phobic advertisement some months ago. Now it is encashing on the 377 verdict and putting out progressive statements. Of course, people are entitled to a change of heart. But if you’ve done something wrong, first begin with an apology.

The SC had the heart to apologise. Corporate India has some introspection to do and understand that it didn’t do anything for LGBTQ people when we needed it to.

A change of heart is good. But it should go beyond equal rights advertisements. I mean, do something for your colleagues to let them know they count.

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