India is a country of various religions and customs. There are a lot of rifts and people who are thought of as belonging to the lower sections are secluded the people who are the worst hit in these situations despite their gender and religion are the members of the LGBTQ community.
June is well known for how it’s celebrated as pride month and it can be see celebrated through pride marches etc. But even though some places hold pride marches in a grand way there are places in India where the topic of LGBTQ and its rights is shunned upon. The topic of LGBTQ does not get discussed and often the discussions about their rights and education about it is not given in most schools, it’s become a topic that’s pushed under the carpet and often hushed.
The situation of people in all age groups who identify themselves as a member of the LGBTQ community but have a feeling of being alone and lost as they have not been properly educated about this is increasing especially in rural India. In these situations, people especially teens cannot often come out to their family or friend in the fear of being bullied, disowned, or even forced to undergo conversion therapy.
Conversion therapy is basically forcing people to change and these methods go as far as inducing electric shock treatment or isolating people away from their support systems and cause mental stress. These methods have scared a lot of people who now think about keeping their sexuality a secret is better than telling them. This has also caused a lot of them to run away from their homes in hopes of leading their lives on their terms.
Even as the Indian government decriminalized the law which made it legally possible and punishable by law to be in a same-sex relationship. It’s tough for people even those who advocate for their rights as they too are secluded from the society and even their families do not allow their children to advocate for it at the fear of being shamed and isolated in the community.
We can be sure in saying that we have come a long way in fighting for their rights but we have a lot to learn and more to do to make India a country a place where people don’t have to fear the consequences of being identified as Lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.