Anjali Gopalan, an activist for human and animal rights activist, delivered a talk about the issues faced by the LGBTQI community on the 13th of November in the NAB Auditorium. As the founder and executive director of the Naz Foundation—one of the major litigants involved in the lawsuits against Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code—Mrs. Gopalan was instrumental in getting homosexuality decriminalised in India. In her talk, she elaborated on the need to sensitise people to the plight of the LGBTQI community and shared her experiences of the fight against Section 377.
The event started with a video highlighting the instances of discrimination faced by members of the LGBTQI community as they go about their everyday lives. Following this, a Vicks advertisement featuring Gauri Sawant, a transgender woman who runs an organisation that helps people with HIV, was played. Ms. Sawant is known for having petitioned the Supreme Court to award adoption rights to transgenders.
Mrs. Gopalan began her work by raising awareness about HIV in the US. At the time, HIV was often referred to as ‘gay cancer’, and it was largely believed to exclusively affect gay people. As a result, hospitals in the US were unwilling to treat HIV patients. This further contributed to the marginalisation faced by the LGBTQI community.
When she came back to India, Mrs. Gopalan realized that it was very important to create an environment in which gay men could resist the societal pressure to get married, as their decision affected both themselves and the women they went on to marry. She narrated an incident where a man approached her for counselling after allegedly having received shock-based conversion therapy at an AIIMS hospital. This shocking incident motivated her to petition the court to strike down Section 377.
Mrs. Gopalan explained that even though homosexuality has been decriminalised in India, the LGBTQI community still does not enjoy the rights that most others take for granted, such as the right to marry someone they love, the right to inheritance, and adoption rights.
Mrs. Gopalan then asked the audience to send in any questions they had anonymously. This led to a variety of discussions regarding the act of coming out, the fear of being confronted by a member of the Hijra community, homophobia, the role of institutionalised religion in suppressing people from coming out, and issues relating to public washrooms. Throughout the talk, Mrs. Gopalan emphasised the importance of implementing a strong anti-discrimination policy in all educational institutions in India.
Mrs. Gopalan ended her talk by stressing that every single person has a role to play in creating a safe environment for people to feel comfortable with their individual identities. She said that this was her lifelong commitment, and asked everyone present to work towards it as well.