The month of June is celebrated as Pride month in many countries around the world to honour the 1969 Stonewall riots that catalyzed the LGBTQIA+ movement. It commemorates the years of struggle for equal rights and opportunities, the continuing fight for justice and celebrates the movement's accomplishments over the years.
As the movement gained momentum around the world, it became more visible in the Indian subcontinent. Various cultural practices in pre-colonial India suggest its relative acceptance of the LGBTQIA+ community. However, the arrival of the British and the imposition of section 377 altered the situation in complex ways. The law, modeled on their Buggery Act of 1533, criminalized homosexuality and considered it to be against the order of nature. In addition to this, the LGBTQIA+ population was classified as a criminal tribe under the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871.
While roots of the Indian queer movement are embedded in various small and big grassroots developments over the years, it gained prominence as an organized and structured activist movement only in the late 1990s. In August 1992, the first known public demonstration of unrest was organized by the ABVA (or AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan) outside police headquarters in New Delhi. Even though it failed to yield any significant results, it is considered a critical point in the movement.
In 1994, the first legal protest challenging the constitutional validity of section 377 was filed as a PIL by the ABVA. Although the court dismissed the petition, this marked the beginning of a long legal battle. The Hijra community gained their voting rights in the same year. In 1999, The Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk (KRPW), also known as The Friendship Walk, marked the arrival of Queer Politics in Indian society. It was the first pride march to be organized in South Asia and was a powerful symbol of acceptance and solidarity between the LGBTQIA+ and other communities.
In 2001, Section 377 was challenged once again by the Naz Foundation (an NGO that works on HIV and sexual health problems in India) in response to a police raid in Lucknow that led to several arrests based on suspected homosexuality. The petition was yet again dismissed, and the foundation filed an appeal with the supreme court. It was then directed back to the high court for reconsideration. The Delhi High Court in 2009 passed the historic judgment decriminalizing homosexuality and ruling discrimination based on sexual orientation to be non-permissible. Unfortunately, this widely celebrated verdict turned out to be short-lived. In 2013, the Supreme court reinstated section 377 despite strong opposition from mental health professionals and other communities. It was considered a serious backward step for the Indian Queer movement.
Illustration by Marva V.A.
In February 2014, the Indian psychiatric society dismissed the notion of homosexuality as a mental illness, and in 2017, the right to privacy was declared as a fundamental right. The following year was one of the most pivotal years for India's legal struggle. On the 6th of September 2018, the supreme court declared section 377 of IPC unconstitutional and struck it down. A team of lawyers, including Arundhati Katju, Menaka Guruswamy, and Saurabh Kripal, fought the case on the petitioners' behalf and convinced the court to overturn its previous ruling. A long due redressal for the ostracism suffered, it was a significant milestone for the queer community.
Recently, in 2019, the parliament passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act. Although it aims to reduce discrimination in accessing services and recognizes the right to self-perceived gender identity, it has received backlash from the queer community for its several problematic provisions, including requiring them to have an identification certificate from the district magistrate. While legal solutions have definitely been a first step in the right direction in India, it is also crucial to build a culture of social acceptance and justice.
As in India, anti LGBTQIA+ laws in many African and Middle Eastern countries date back to European colonization. The work of poets like Rumi from Iran and Abu Nuwas from Iraq celebrating sexuality is a testament to an openness prevalent in the Middle East during the 13th and 14th centuries. However, with minimal rights, and laws persecuting LGBTQIA+ individuals widespread in several countries, the modern Middle East is poles apart from this outlook. Same-sex sexual activity is illegal in most countries, and even where it is legal, the social situation is far from perfect. Human rights violations and corruption combined with extremism, political instability, and sectarian violence have cumbered the progress of the Queer movement in most authoritarian regimes.
In August 2019, Mounir Baatour became Tunisia's first openly gay person to announce his candidature for the presidency and state his support for repealing Article 230, which criminalized homosexuality. His stance on LGBTQIA+ rights was instrumental in revealing the other candidates' positions on the issue. But, after receiving death threats from various Islamist parties, he was forced to flee the country. The government tightened restrictions on the right to protest, and over 120 people were arrested for suspected homosexuality in 2019 alone. However, even with the government's brutally orchestrated crackdowns on civil rights organizations, campaigners and activists have been able to bring together certain parties, groups, and women's movements. In 2020, in an unprecedented step, Shams, a Tunisian organization defending LGBTQIA+ rights, was granted legal rights by the court despite opposition from the state. In countries like Lebanon, gaining the support of security forces, justice ministries, and the public has been tough, even with considerable progress across media and legal systems. However, despite having very little legal protection, no one was arrested for waving the rainbow flag during recent pride marches in Beirut. This was considered a major forward stride for the country.
It is, however, much more challenging to create a similar effect in countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt with their draconian laws and limited press freedom. Four years have passed since the infamous Rainbow case in Cairo, where over 70 people were arrested and imprisoned for raising the pride flag during a concert. Yet, even as crackdowns force many LGBTQIA+ individuals to hide their identities, various online communities have continued advocating to spread awareness and improve their visibility. Recently, in a noteworthy step, the Egyptian Minister of Education, Tarek Shawki, called for the social acceptance of transgender individuals.
The African continent has also become a difficult place for LGBTQIA+ people. Over half of its countries outlaw homosexuality, and several others, such as Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia, and South Sudan, punish it with the death penalty. Some of the many reasons for the queerphobic sentiment reverberating across the continent include a sense of segmentation among different queer populations, widespread anti-western sentiment perpetuated by politicians, an attempt to invoke queerness as a threat to African family culture, and a lack of visibility.
In 2014, the African Commission on Human and People's Rights enacted Resolution 275 to protect its people from pervasive violence based on sexual orientation and identity. While this is a significant step forward, the commission has little authority to enforce the resolution in case of defiance. In 2006, South Africa became the first country in the continent to legalize same-sex marriage, and its policies are among the most progressive in the world. However, hate crimes against LGBTQIA+ people are still commonplace in the country. In addition to abolishing explicit legal barriers, it is imperative to support grassroots civil societies, campaigns, and local media. Increased visibility will also allow the community to access various platforms and refute the numerous irrational, outrageous, and stereotypical claims leveled at them. However, the situation is not entirely bleak, as many countries, including Angola, Botswana, and Mozambique, have legalized same-sex relationships in recent years.
All around the world, the history of the queer movement has a common thread of resilience and courage. Despite repeated setbacks, it has made great progress in recent decades, thanks to the unwavering spirit of many documented and undocumented grassroots campaigns and leaders. There is, nevertheless, a long path to traverse before our societies can be truly free and inclusive.
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