What happened to Pranay can happen to any one of us: LGBTQ activists

The Supreme Court may have decriminalised the archaic Section 377 in a historic verdict, but the LGBTQI+ community feels that their real fight has just
begun. Recently, several city-based activists gathered at Nritya Forum to discuss about the stigma attached to the community and how they too may be victims of

honour killings

, given the recent horrific murders in Miryalguda.

Stating that the SC’s verdict has opened the doors for some serious re-thinking to be made on how to make the society more inclusive, the activists asserted that this is not the time to take respite in the victory of the recent verdict but to intensify the fight for their rights.

“We now need to be even more careful. Since people can’t file cases against us for being in love, they might resort to extreme measures like honour killings. What happened to

Pranay

can happen to any of us,” said activist Jayati Mathur.

While people across the country have hailed the SC’s verdict, there was a studied silence among the political class, the activists pointed out. They also cited several demeaning comments made by a few politicians on the community following the verdict.

Monalisa, an

LGBT

activist, said, “These comments are purely politically motivated. By making such remarks, they are only trying to appease their vote bank. They are targeting us since we are in the minority and not perceived as a major vote bank.”

The activists also discussed about the insensitive manner in which transwomen are handled by the police, when they file complaints of rape. “Just because they look different and dress differently, trans women are being denied entry into malls and shops. Why do they call it

same-sex marriage

when a transwoman and a cis male want to marry? They don’t belong to the same sex but are still discriminated against. How is this fair? This needs to change,” adds

Chandramukhi

, an activist.

The event also saw a theme-based performance by Patruni Chidananda Sastry, classical expressionist dancer and a member of the community.