From his first interactions with the Kerala State Aids Control Society a decade-and-a-half ago to today, sexual minorities in the State have come a long way. Ashok Row Kavi, chairperson of The Humsafar Trust, Mumbai, says he is happy with the direction the struggle for the community’s rights has taken in Kerala.
Organisations such as Queerythm, he says, are in step in with government policy, unlike in many States. In influencing policies, Queerythm is one step ahead of The Humsafar Trust. This is important because one has to work with the people’s representatives, fight within the system. “In Mumbai, we work with the Shiv Sena in the municipal corporation, and they have been very positive towards us.”
Grassroot work by such organisations is also important to put pressure on the State to read down laws against sexual minorities such as Section 377 of the IPC, which criminalises homosexuality. “Even if the Supreme Court does not change it, pressure can be exerted to get it removed from the statute books of the State so that those laws are not applicable to sexual minorities,” he says.
The POCSO Act deals with sexual violence against children, and the anti-rape laws have been well defined by the Justice Verma Commission. So there is no need for Section 377, Mr. Kavi points out.
The role of grassroots organisations in educating sexual minorities is critical so that the members do not end up lacking education or skill sets, forcing them to turn to sex work. The forums can also help expose the frauds behind “cures’ for homosexuality, he says. His trust, he says, nurtures other community-based groups so that they can take off on their own.
