Many prominent figures have become champions for the South Asian queer cause, often making waves both in and outside their country of origin.
Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil of Gujarat is known as the first openly gay royalty in the world. In October 2007, the Prince was featured on Oprah and became an inspirational story for gay people worldwide.
His story was of crucial relevance to South Asian culture because he was married before coming out. Many South Asian men have difficulty recognizing or defining their sexual ‘identity’, and it is not uncommon for men to get married and have extramarital affairs with other men. “I thought after marriage I will be alright because I never knew and nobody told me that I was gay and this is normal. Homosexuality is not a disease. I tremendously regret ruining her life. I feel guilty,” Manvendra confessed.
Prince Manvendra founded the Lakshya Trust, an NGO with over 17,000 gay members that works to increase HIV/AIDS awareness amongst the gay population in Gujarat. The Lakshya Trust has now opened India’s first gay old age home.
Sunil Babu Pant, Nepal’s first openly gay MP, is also a leading South Asian gay rights activist and founder of the Blue Diamond Society, an NGO supported by Elton John that works to protect the rights of sexual minorities in Nepal. Former Miss India and actress Celina Jaitley has been a strong advocate for the rights of sexual minorities in India.
These individuals and organizations are all part of a burgeoning movement that is working towards increasing awareness worldwide. In early 2009, Bombay Dost’s Vikram Phukan wrote, “If there is a general theme that underlines the events of the past year, it is that of optimism. Unfettered, carefree optimism.”
While optimism in the LGBT communities runs high, so do suicide rates, discrimination, and harassment cases. In October 2008, the police in Bangalore arrested and harassed ‘hijras’ (transgenders) in a systematic discrimination against the minority population.
While the last year has seen increased awareness about gay rights in the subcontinent’s media, the majority of South Asian society still perpetrates stereotypes and judgment on a regular basis.
A common stigma is the perception that homosexuality and the queer movement is ‘Western’ influenced and is a threat to the ‘Indian identity’. Vikrant Lal, a 29-year-old Indian living in the US, elaborates that “people need to realize this is not a Western influence, or a new phenomenon…it has been around from ancient times.”
While all the LGBT communities face resistance, lesbian women often bear the brunt of social oppression due to the predominantly patriarchal societies in South Asia. Amrita Nandy-Joshi reports, “For women who love women, the alarm factor is higher because they are ‘women’, the supposed repositories of honour and shame. No wonder that many who get ‘caught’ either run away from home or commit suicide to escape the trauma.”²
In June 2009, the South Asian Queer Leaders held their first Summit in New York to discuss future strategies and strengthen the trans-national network of sexual minorities. As these communities strengthen their political voices, establish an emerging identity, and write a new discourse, only time will tell what the future holds.
Notes:
¹Miranda Kennedy, ‘Open Secrets’, The Old Town Review, August 2004. http://www.fluxfactory.org/otr/kennedyopensecrets.htm
²Amrita Nandy-Joshi, ‘Quilts of Love’, Tehelka, Vol 6, Issue 26; July 2009.
