India decriminalizes gay sex

Section 377, the law that criminalized consensual homosexual sex in India and which was a holdover from the British colonial administration, was struck down by the New Delhi High Court on Thursday. It is no longer a crime for anyone over the age of 18 to have consensual gay sex.

Justice S. Muralidhar's judgment states:

This Court believes that Indian Constitution reflects this value deeply ingrained in Indian society. Those perceived by the majority as deviants or ‘different' are not on that score excluded or ostracized. Where society can display inclusiveness and understanding, such persons can be assured of a life of dignity and nondiscrimination.

The Globe & Mail reports that Section 377 was rarely used for prosecutions, but rather was a favourite tool of police to threaten and extort gay men and transgender people in particular.

“The threat of exposure is enough to extort gay men for sex and money in India on a daily basis,” said Leslie Estefeves, a leader with a collective of activists called Voices Against 377, who shed anxious tears before the judge even began to speak.

The case apparently bounced between courts for more than eight years and may still not be over if the government chooses to appeal. Behind the exciting news headline, then, are years and years of exhausting work on the part of Indian activists and gay and trans people throughout the country willing to take a risk to demand equality under the law. It's sad to think of the price people have to pay to win this kind of victory, but I guess that's how our current systems allocate rights: we'll eventually grant you the same entitlements that we currently enjoy because to not do so would invalidate our claims of being a democratic and egalitarian society -- yet we'll do everything we can to make your fight more difficult and when it finally happens, we'll take centre stage to congratulate ourselves on being progressive and tolerant.

I keep thinking of the friend who, on the 40th anniversary of the decriminalization of gay sex in Canada, changed her Facebook status to a message of gratitude to then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau for making it happen. Trudeau didn't grant equal rights to queer Canadians -- queer Canadians won equal rights for themselves!