Forced marriage haunts gays
Homosexual marrying heterosexual often results in physical abuse.
Thiruvananthapuram: Many Malayali homosexuals are forced into heterosexual marriages, and many others marry foreseeing a divorce, reveal statistics analysed by a support group for LGBTIQ, ‘Queerala,’ based in Ernakulam. The conclusion was derived from the queries received through emails, website and social media channels. Though there were 3,650 support requests, they analysed mainly 420 cases. There were 283 divorced homosexuals, among whom 247 were men and 36 women. A total of 148 gay men and 12 women said that they married due to societal and family pressure. While 56 men and 18 women thought of marriage as a way to cope with singlehood, 43 men (around 16 percent of male divorcees) and six women had foreseen their divorce at the time of marriage itself.
The most number of queries came from those aged between 21 and 40. According to Queerela founder Jijo Kuriakose, the people of this group face marriage pressure and pass through divorce. They got 83 enquiries in the age group of 21-30 and 124 in the age group of 31-40. There can be many consequences of a gay or a lesbian marrying a heterosexual, including physical abuse, according to Jiby Joyce, a Queerela member of Bengaluru. Jijo says that 13 suicides of homosexuals were reported in Kerala, most of whom were married.
Most parents would have known all along that their child is a homosexual, but would still push them into marriage, says Jiby Joyce. “I know many cases where ‘coming out’ happens around 25, and it would be like a bomb explosion. Parents of teenagers who have come out are more relaxed about it,” he says. The data is not limited to marriage issue. There were 314 enquiries related to homosexuals leaving the state, 227 on unethical medical practices, 225 on family denial, 137 on faith versus sexuality conflict and 48 child sex abuse survivors. Jijo says that statistics related to homosexuals is important. “The Supreme Court had referred to homosexuals as a minuscule minority. That is not true, but there is little data available. So such documentation helps,” he says.