No country for gay abandon
Bengaluru’s LGBT commynity reacts to the landmark Irish judgement on marriage
By : namita gupta
Update: 2015-05-26 23:59 GMT
There was jubilation in the air as Ireland celebrated gay marriage with a big yes from the authorities, thanks to the first time voter poll! Back home the LGBT community has been trying to get the vote too, but in vain. But when a recent matrimonial ad placed by Padma Iyer, a Mumbai resident looking for an Iyer boy for her son sprung up, it sparked off quite a buzz on social networking sites and has been garnering accolades as they have taken a step to challenge a widespread social taboo against homosexuality.
In the wake of Ireland’s historic vote giving gays the legal freedom to marry, we find out from the local community whether there is still a stigma attached to same sex marriages, are they in the closet or are they willing to come out in the open yet? Restaurateur Arjun Sajnani of Sunny’s is iffy about the affairs in the city, as he states, “There are so many in the closet still and those who want to come out are not yet allowed to be candid about it according to Section 377. Fighting for our human rights is very tough in India, but looks like there might be a ray of hope. If Ireland and certain states in the US that are conservative can go ahead with this referendum, then there’s hope for us too. It’s time we ape the liberal thoughts of the West as well, instead of only their dressing, food and music culture.”
Giving thumbs up and agreeing it’s a great step is designer Raj Shroff from the city, who feels that it’s time we take learning from the Ireland referendum. “It’s great what has happened, but in India we have a long way to go. They don’t even allow same sex relationships, so marriage is out of question and asking for too much. The boy, whose mother went all out to advertise in the paper to look for a boy for him, is lucky and must have had a good relationship with his mother, but most parents I know, are not willing to accept that their son is gay or their daughter is a lesbian and wouldn’t stand by them.”
While there is a prominent guy in the city who is gay, his parents refuse to accept the fact. There are many such instances of people in the city hiding in the closet. A gay couple from the city who didn’t want to be named, questions, “We would like to state our vows for each other but how can we even think of marriage? My boyfriend and I have been living together for the past six years and are head over heels in love. We also have two cats and they are like our children. We are not yet married as we live in a country where sex with the same gender is illegal.”