Twenty-nine-year-old Rijul listens patiently every weekend to pleas from his family to get married and they have used almost every trick in the book to get him to meet girls. Rijul, however, keeps brushing them off saying that he needed to settle down financially before starting a family.
“The real reason is that I am scared to tell my parents that I am gay as that will just push me away from them and I do not want to ruin a girl’s life by hiding my sexual orientation. I have come to terms with it and until the laws change in the country, I will live in my world with the company of my close friends I can confide in as family,” says Rijul.
Hospitals to godmenThe troubles faced by his cousin when he was in college convinced Rijul that he would not open up to his parents. “I remember the drama that took place in the family when my cousin told his parents that he had a boyfriend. From mental hospitals to godmen, the poor boy was tormented and he finally fled from home,” says Rijul.
Stories like these are not uncommon as the fear of what society will think restricts many from leading their life the way they want to. Transgender activist Abhina Aher says every Indian should take a keen interest in the court proceedings with regard to Section 377 because we are moving towards securing the Constitution for a modern India and the law affects everybody.
People celebrateOutside the Supreme Court on Tuesday, people and petitioners gathered to celebrate the hope that the law may be scrapped but in the living rooms and offices, hundreds who do not have the courage to come out also exulted.
Vineeta, a college student, shares her experience: “I was in the bus going home after class and I kept refreshing my twitter feed. A little after 3 p.m. some journalists reported that the matter has been referred to a five-judge Bench. I did not understand what it meant but I was happy that there is still hope that I will be able to lead a life as a lesbian and not be treated as a criminal by society.”
