For LGBTQIA+, a step towards true equality

On September 6, 2018, the Supreme Court (SC) struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalised homosexuality. Three years later, on Tuesday, a petition filed by two non-governmental organisations representing the queer community in the Kerala High Court has proved that India still has a long way to go to ensure that the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community are fully recognised. The petition sought the removal of discriminatory inferences about the community in medical textbooks. The bench remarked that it is a “serious issue”, and directed the Undergraduate Medical Education Board to take immediate action.

The argument of the petitioners is clear: Queerphobic content in the textbooks violates LGBTQIA+ people’s rights under Articles 14, 17, 19, 21 guaranteed by the Constitution, even more so after scrapping the draconian 377 and the SC recognising the rights of transpersons. The curriculum’s readings — which stereotype the sexual or gender identities of queers as an offence, a mental disorder or a perversion — must be condemned. This must also be followed by awareness, sensitisation, and an overhaul of archaic systems from primary to higher education, which have perpetuated the inequality of India’s sexual minorities.

From the sciences to the arts, education has the power to effect change. The Kerala case can be the beginning of a structural change in India’s education. Identifying outdated (and incorrect) information within textbooks at all levels is a first step in creating a safe learning environment for the LGBTQIA+ community, and one of many steps towards building a truly equal society. It may have been three years since former Chief Justice Dipak Misra said these words of/about the LGBTQIA+ community, but they require greater attention even today, “I am what I am. So take me as I am.”