Top court in India legalises gay sex

Jubilation broke out among India’s sexual minorities on Thursday, as the top court decriminalised gay sex, but campaigners cautioned more needs to be done before achieving acceptance and equality.

Gay sex is considered taboo by many in the socially conservative country, and was reinstated as a criminal offence in 2013 after four years of decriminalisation. Five years on, a panel of judges has unanimously struck down the law and guaranteed the right to equality, sparking celebrations among India’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

The LGBT community welcomed the move, but activists urged Indians to be more progressive and inclusive, allowing sexual minorities to have better access to job opportunities and services such as health care, education and housing.

“This is a game changer. This is going to be a new beginning for everything else,” said Suresh Ramdas, a gay man and head of the LGBT support group in India for Hewlett-Packard. He said the next “hurdle” was to change attitudes towards LGBT people.

“The law has been taken down, but to have that translate at the ground level — making a change in the minds and opinions of people — that will take time,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Although the law banning all forms of nonpenile vaginal sex was rarely enforced in India, it was used to intimidate, harass, blackmail and extort money from gay people, activists say.

Humsafar Trust, a charity that works with India’s LGBT community, said it is “time to gear up for our fight towards further rights”, including legal recognition, adoption, marriage and employment.

Maya Urmi Aher, a transgender woman and rights activist, said the verdict is a “significant first step but we still have a long way to go”.

“The ball is in the government’s court now to ensure total equality, with the right [legal] policies,” she said.