Indian celebs ignore UN's call to mark May 17 as International Day Against Homophobia
HYDERABAD: United Nations chief António Guterres, on Wednesday, called on leaders to mark May 17 as “International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia” and to speak in one word for the elimination of stigma and discrimination against the LGBTQI+ communities.
In an statement publised on UN’s official blog, he said, “As we mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, we face a stark fact. In every corner of the world, LGBTQI+ people continue to face violence, persecution, hate speech, injustice, and even outright murder.”
Responding to the the UN Chief’s call, Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Football Club Tottenham Hotspur, President of European Parliament Roberta Metsola and British Deputy High Commissioner to Telangana & Andhra Pradesh Gareth Wynn Owen among others tweeted in support, calling out stigma and discrimination against the LGBTQI+ communities.
Here are some of the tweets in support of marking May 17 as International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia:
Happy International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. On this day and every day, @WHO respects diversity in people’s sexual orientation and gender identity, and works for the right of EVERYONE to live a healthy, dignified life without stigma. #IDAHOBIT
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 17, 2023
🇪🇺ðŸ³ï¸ðŸŒˆ Equality. Diversity. Inclusion.
— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) May 17, 2023
Today we celebrate freedom. @Europarl_EN is proud to join the world in marking #IDAHOBIT.
We will continue our fight against discrimination, hatred and prejudice. pic.twitter.com/ZuPBNrnTLd
🇪🇺ðŸ³ï¸ðŸŒˆ Equality. Diversity. Inclusion.
— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) May 17, 2023
Today we celebrate freedom. @Europarl_EN is proud to join the world in marking #IDAHOBIT.
We will continue our fight against discrimination, hatred and prejudice. pic.twitter.com/ZuPBNrnTLd
Today the UK 🇬🇧 is marking International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. #IDAHOBIT
— Gareth Wynn Owen (@UKinHyderabad) May 17, 2023
We are committed to championing LGBT+ rights internationally working with local civil society, grassroots activists and human rights defenders to deliver our shared mission. pic.twitter.com/p6h5JfzM1D
While there have been tweets in support of the cause from many European leaders, Football Clubs and so on, none of the Indian leaders or celebrities responded to it even as the the Supreme Court of India has been hearing arguments for and against making same-sex marriages legal in the country.
Reacting to Indian leaders and activists’ deaf ear to the UN chief’s call, an LGBTQI+ activist from Hyderabad, Sandipan, said that celebrities, leaders or socially-influencial people in our country only say “it is their life, let them live” when asked about the community.
Sandipan points out that no one comes forward to openly support the community or call out stigma or discrimination against them, and adds “with the kind of influence and impact they have on common people, celebs, leaders and influencers must call out the discrimination if they want to support instead of just asking people to let the community live.”
