Why Miss Argentina And Miss Puerto Rico Going Public With Their Marriage Is Monumental? 

Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico Marriage has taken Instagram by storm. Mariana and Fabiola met at Miss Grand International and kept their relationship a secret. They dated for two years before tying the knot in a private ceremony a week back. 

The couple took to Instagram to share a video of their loving moments and disclosed to their audience their official acknowledgement of each other as spouses. 

Why is the Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico Marriage Monumental? 

Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico marriage is commemorative not only because of their celebrity status but because of the societal progress it embodies in an open acknowledgement of a queer relationship. 

Such events hold hope for a world that is kind and acknowledges love that is not necessarily cisgender and heterosexual in nature. Several nations of Asia, Africa, the Pacific, the Caribbean, and the Americas criminalise LGBTQIA+ relationships with a heavy penalty, life imprisonment, long-term imprisonment, corporeal punishment such as being lashed or pelted by stones, or a combination of some of the above. 

According to the Human Dignity Trust, today 11 nations have jurisdictions that criminalise queer relationships overall, 69 nations that criminalise same-sex activities between men, 42 nations that target women for same-sex love, and 14 countries that target trans people for using cross-dressing as a mode of queer expression. 

Is there hope for India to go the Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico Marriage Route? 

India has been doing moderately well in acknowledging LGBTQIA+ needs, but the nation still has room for a lot of growth in the same sphere. The 2018 hearing of the Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India by the Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality in Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code between consenting homosexual adults. 

Same-sex marriages are not yet legally recognised in India, however, there was this one instance where India went the Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico marriage route. In 2011, the Haryana High Court had given protection to and legally acknowledged the relationship of a same-sex lesbian couple who had sought refuge and appealed to the law for protection against their relatives who swore blood vengeance for the nature of their queer relationship. 

Honour killing is a common practice in common practice small villages in Haryana for not marrying the ‘right caste’. The couple was shifted to a safe house under police protection. The SC served notice to 14 of those relatives who threatened the lesbian couple with ‘severe consequences'. 

India being a nation that gives much importance to epics should not turn a blind eye to Mahabharata where the representation of queer folks like Shikandi has been given their due respect and societal acknowledgement when it comes to queer marriage. 

Efforts are being made at the legislative level to gain acknowledgement for the civic union of queer folks. For instance, the bill to legalise same-sex marriage has been introduced by MP Supriya Sule under the Special Marriage Act of 1954. However, the bill is yet to be passed. The Delhi High Court and the Allahabad High Court have dismissed recognition of same-sex marriages but queer folks can still hold out hope. 

Article 15 of the Indian constitution prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual discrimination and it is not unfathomable to expect queer affirmative advocates to leverage the above-mentioned in court with the intention of legalising same-sex marriages. 

Where same-sex marriages still might seem unreachable to many in India, there are conjectures for the unthinkable to happen someday. 

Suggested Reading: Here Is Everything You Need To Know About Miss Puerto Rico, Fabiola Valentin

Views expressed by author are their own.