Post date: Dec 28, 2013 10:14:54 PM
A documentary screening organised to raise awareness about kinds of sexuality that exist in the society at the historic Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
NEW DELHI, INDIA (DECEMBER 28, 2013) (ANI) - A documentary screening was organised at the historic Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday (December 28) to create an awareness about the kinds of sexuality that exist in the society
The screening was also done as a revolt against the recent verdict of banning gay sex passed by India's Supreme Court.On December 20, the government filed a review petition against the country's Supreme Court to restore the colonial era ban on gay sex in India, saying that individual rights must be respected.
The top court had earlier overturned a 2009 ruling by the Delhi High Court, which had lifted the ban that dated back to the nineteenth century, on gay sex between consenting adults.
Director of the screened documentary "Rainbows are Real" Ritesh Sharma, said that the movie brings home the message that the gays deserve rights that other Indian citizens enjoy.
"This documentary thing is a real thing and we want people to see this film. We want create awareness among people.. We want peoples' mindset to change and we want the Supreme Court and the Parliament to think again and first decriminalise it and then proceed further. They need a job. They can work, they can also dance, they can do every single thing that a normal individual can do," he said.
Violation of the law can be punished with up to 10 years in jail under section 377 of the Indian penal code, which prohibits "sex against the order of nature" that is widely interpreted to mean homosexual sex.
The movie is based in Kolkata and encapsulates the lives of transgenders and the hardships they face.
A viewer, Pooja, said that they still have not lost hope and believe that they shall also be integrated into the society just like others.
"All I want to say is that just like everyone else has rights, we want the government to do something for us also. We still hope, because hope is the elixir of life. We want them to do something good for us. We also need security because we are not secure," she said.
Many people showed up to watch the movie that diversifies the concept of sexuality in society and were also disappointed with the verdict of the Apex court.
The Supreme Court's ruling followed a four-year period of de-criminalisation that had helped bring homosexuality into the open.
The verdict shocked gay rights activists in India and abroad, who had expected the court simply to rubber-stamp the 2009 ruling.
The 2009 ruling to exempt gay sex between consenting adults from the ban was the result of a case brought by the Naz Foundation, which has been fighting a legal battle for almost a decade.
The LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenders) community faces a social stigma in India, where hugging and kissing in public even among heterosexual couples is strongly frowned upon.
But for most of the India's 2.5 million gays, strong religious and family values mean many homosexuals choose to hide their sexuality for fear of discrimination, while attacks by police, especially in rural areas, are common.