1. What is the current legal situation?
In India, marriage is governed by different laws tailored to the country’s religious denominations. Both limit marriage to male-female couples. However, the legal rights of LGBTQ people in India have expanded over the past decade and are almost entirely led by the Supreme Court.
• In 2014, we laid the groundwork by legally recognizing non-binary or transgender people as a ‘third gender’.
• In 2017, we strengthened our right to privacy, recognizing sexual orientation as an integral attribute of an individual’s privacy and dignity.
• Decriminalized homosexuality in 2018, overturning British colonial laws and expanding constitutional rights for LGBTQ people.
• Last year, courts began protecting what some called ‘unusual’ families. For example, broad categories including single parents, mixed families, kinship relationships, same-sex couples, and more. The court said such non-traditional representations of family members were equally entitled to benefits under various social welfare laws.
2. What is the government’s position?
The ruling BJP opposed expanding the Hindu Marriage Law to include same-sex marriage in 2020, arguing that such marriages are out of step with Indian values and culture. The Supreme Court has asked the government to formally consider the current lawsuit. As of mid-January, I still hadn’t. BJP lawmaker Sushil Modi told parliament in December that issues of such social importance should not be left to “a few judges”. He urged the government to strongly oppose legal sanctions against same-sex marriage.In January, the Supreme Court said the government opposed the appointment of gay judges. The government did not immediately comment.
3. What about religious leaders?
Leaders of India’s most prominent religious groups either do not support LGBTQ rights or refrain from commenting. However, among the Hindu majority (about 80% of the country), there is a gradual change in the way religious leaders engage with their communities.
• In 2018, the Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) agreed with a Supreme Court ruling decriminalizing homosexual sex, but called homosexual relationships “neither natural nor desirable.” claimed. Earlier this year, the group’s head, Mohan Bhagwat, stood by LGBTQ rights, saying such people were “always there” and “part of society”. did not go so far as to endorse
• The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), a non-governmental organization that works to protect and promote Muslim personal law, including laws dealing with family matters, opposes homosexuality as immoral. . (About 15% of Indians are Muslim.)
• Some groups in the much smaller Christian population opposed legalizing homosexuality in 2018, saying “same-sex marriage would be a social experiment with unpredictable consequences”. rice field.
4. Are LGBTQ people in India easy to go out?
it depends. Although they are no longer in danger of facing criminal prosecution, although the Constitution contains a general guarantee of equal rights for all, a national There are no anti-discrimination laws. Young people are more open and willing to talk about their sexuality and gender identity. Most big cities host LGBTQ pride parades and other events and tend to be much more open than many rural locations. According to Ipsos’ 2021 LGBTQ+ Pride survey, about 60% of urban populations are comfortable with LGBTQ people being open about their sexual orientation and gender identity. 44% said they supported same-sex marriage, more than 39% said they showed public affection for LGBTQ people by holding hands or kissing. However, being gay can still be considered taboo in the country’s rural areas, where about two-thirds of the country’s population lives. LGBTQ people face societal discrimination, are shunned by their communities and families, are exposed to harassment and violence, and are sometimes even threatened by police.
5. What’s in court?
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the petitions of two same-sex couples in November. Since then, more couples have joined, and the court has also absorbed similar cases from several states challenging various religious personal laws. to address whether gay marriage is permitted under the Hindu Marriage Law, the Indian Christian Marriage Law, the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Law, and the Muslim Personal Law (which is largely unwritten). Means — Special Marriage Act — governs unions between heathen couples, non-believers, and others. Some legal experts suspect the courts are trying to find ways to allow same-sex marriage under secular law without expanding religious norms. A hearing is scheduled for her March 13, and there is no timeline for a decision. The 2018 decriminalization decision came two months after the public hearings, but it appears to have happened surprisingly quickly.
6. How does India compare to other countries?
By the end of 2022, more than 30 countries, mainly in Western Europe and the Americas, will have legalized same-sex marriage. In Asia, only one jurisdiction — Taiwan — allows it, and elsewhere attitudes and laws are divided. Hong Kong does not recognize same-sex marriages within the country, but same-sex spouses of expatriates, for example, are granted dependent visas. Thailand is nudging towards civil union recognition. Other countries are more restrictive. Indonesia, which does not recognize same-sex marriage, recently banned all extramarital sex. Singapore’s parliament passed a law lifting the ban on sex between men, but closing the door to marriage equality. If an Indian court allows same-sex marriage, the country would replace the United States as the largest democracy with such rights for LGBTQ couples.
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