Year after India gay ruling, a battle to change attitudes

 | 
09/05/2019

Vivek Kishore and Vishwa Srivastava hit it off soon after meeting at a cafe, little knowing what lay in store for them as a gay couple in India where homosexuality was a criminal offense until a year ago. The couple’s worst fears came true when they were slapped, abused, and threatened with police action by none other than Kishore’s parents, who found out they were living together. But life changed for the duo a year ago on Friday when India’s Supreme Court overturned a British colonial-era law that had criminalized gay sex as “against the order of nature”. Hundreds of people had been prosecuted under the law, known as Section 377, which was often used to threaten, abuse, and blackmail members of the LGBTQ community. “It was huge, it was like getting independence… My immediate thought was both of us can have sex, that’s not criminal anymore,” Kishore gushed. “Legally there is nothing that my homophobic family can do now against me,” the 24-year-old said, locking eyes and toes with his partner at their home in Gurgaon on the outskirts of New Delhi.

Regions: ,

Share this:

Latest Global News

Added on: 10/03/2024
10/02/2024
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has refused to sign into law a bill approved by parliament last month that rights groups and many opposition politicians …
Added on: 10/03/2024
10/02/2024
Kyrgyzstan’s government has proposed problematic amendments to the criminal code and other legislative acts that would restore criminal charges for the mere possession of …
Added on: 10/02/2024
10/02/2024
Cabrel Ngounou’s life in Cameroon quickly unraveled after neighbors caught the teenager with his boyfriend. A crowd surrounded his boyfriend’s house and beat him. …

Explore LGBTQ+ Issues

Other News from ,

Added on: 10/03/2024
Kyrgyzstan’s government has proposed problematic amendments to the criminal code and other legislative acts that would restore criminal charges for the mere possession of …
Added on: 10/02/2024
Tokyo BTM is an increasingly popular channel that focuses on queer culture in Japan. Created by two expat, Andrew Pugsley, from Canada, and Meng …
Added on: 10/01/2024
With Lebanon experiencing its deadliest day in nearly 20 years this month — not to mention the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine that …