News Issues

Girls In Same-Sex Relationship Seek Police Help To Get Married

Bhana

15 Jun 2018 00:00 IST

Updated On 15 Jun 2018 09:30 IST

New Update

Two girls, aged 18 and 20, from Mathura have approached the Agra police with a request for a safety cover as they plan to get married despite their parents' disapproval.

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Police in dilemma

The situation has landed the city police in a fix owing to the laws regarding same-sex marriages in India. According to a report, the girls have threatened to commit suicide if they are not allowed to live together. Police confirmed that the girls had given them application with the request. The police then summoned the parents of both girls. The girls, refusing to give in to their parents' demands, insisted on getting married. The two work in the same beauty parlour and have been in a relationship for the past three years.

Same-sex marriages are outlawed in India and committing suicide is also in violation of the law. Therefore, the police department is looking into legal guidance referring to similar cases in the past. As of now, both the girls are living at the local women's police station

Ahmedabad lesbian couple commits suicide with child

On June 11, a lesbian couple jumped to their death in Gujarat's Sabarmati river, leaving behind suicide notes near Ellisbridge, Ahmedabad. The two women have been identified as 30-year-old Asha Thakor and 28-year-old Bhavna Thakor. They committed suicide due to complications they had been facing because of their relationship.

A message, scribbled on a wall near the Sabarmati river with red lipstick, said, "We have left this world to live with each other. The world did not allow us to stay together. We did not have any men with us".

Another message, scribbled in the same fashion, was found on a disposable plate. It read "This world did not allow us to stay together. When will we meet again? When will we meet, perhaps in the next birth we will meet again".

Reports say one of the women was married and had a three-year-old daughter. She threw the child into the river and then jumped soon after with her partner. Both women worked at the same private company in Rajoda village of Ahmedabad district.

Sexuality is not something that should be debated against

On January 8, the Supreme Court referred to a larger Bench for a writ petition filed by five petitioners to revoke Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises homosexuality. The SC had said that societal morality changes with time and law should abide by that.

A three-judge Bench decided to revisit its December 2013 verdict, in Suresh Kumar Kaushal vs. Naz Foundation, which dismissed the LGBT community as a negligible part of the population. It had denied the community the right of choice and sexual orientation.

Opinions

"Talking from the legal angle, it is illegal under sector section 377. However, under the fundamental right of Right To Life of constitution, these girls can apply for police protection in court. I believe this should be legalised because every one should have the right to choose a partner they want to live with. This choice, regardless of gender, should be held legal," said lawyer Vasundhara Bhatt.

"It's sad that in a country as diverse as India, people are not able to live with a liberal mindset. Now, if you see it under the influence of law, we have section 377 of IPC which criminalises any sexual act against the course of nature. It was criminalised in the Suresh Kumar Kaushal vs. Naz Foundation case. Although the SC has considered reviewal of the petitions filed, there has to be quick action taken in decriminalising it. People have a fundamental right to privacy which means they can take decisions concerning their personal life without being answerable. Decriminalising 377 is going to be a huge step for the nation," said Arushi Arora, another lawyer.

About time we, collectively as a nation, rise above to become a more liberal society and discontinue being the land of discrimination and hypocrisy.