Struggling with gender identity, and fighting against stigma, prejudice and discrimination, the LGBTQIA+ community, in Tamil Nadu at least, will not be derided by slurs or mocking half-names anymore. The T.N. government, on the orders of the Madras High Court, has come out with a glossary of terms to address people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual or of any other orientation. The Department of Social Welfare and Women Empowerment notified the terms — paal pudhumaiyar for queer; maruviya paalinam for a transgender; idaippaal for intersex; paalina adaiyaalangaludan oththupogaathavar for a gender non-conforming person and so forth. Not everyone is happy; some groups feel the word for transgender should be the one in use, thirunar; others hope the nomenclature will not rid those who fall outside the generalisation of the benefits. For this diverse community, the road from isolation to belonging has been fraught with bias and violence, it was a wrong Justice N. Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court sought to amend in his June 7, 2021 verdict. While hearing, in April, the ordeal of a same-sex couple who sought police protection from combative parents, Justice Venkatesh admitted that he had to shed his own misconceptions before ruling on the case. The High Court came out with a slew of guidelines for the police, and social welfare ministries, both State and Centre, to ensure the safety of the community.
In February, the High Court pulled up the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for dragging its feet on listing names of NGOs working for the community. In a June 2021 order, the High Court had acknowledged that social sanction is of paramount importance to lead a life of choice. In 2018, a Bench of the Supreme Court had overturned a 2013 ruling and decriminalised homosexuality. But the landmark judgment was only a first step. An individual wanting to live with dignity, no matter how she wants to be identified, still has many mountains to climb before enjoying liberty, autonomy and privacy guaranteed by Article 21. The state and society often mobilise traditional values to combat all sorts of phobias, and the movement for equal rights in T.N. should ensure children are not forced to go in for conversion therapy or thrown out of their homes for being different. Rights activists hope the glossary is fluid because the conversation around gender and sexuality is evolving. By creating inclusiveness in language for a marginalised community, the State has worked on the principle of suyamariyadhai or self-respect, the cornerstone of the Dravidian movement. Tamil Nadu has shown the way, but there is a long way to go before people forced to be in the shadows see a rainbow of hope in all spheres of life.
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