Queering the Vote: fighting for visibility in India's election

As India gears up for the 2024 general elections, the country's LGBTQIA+ community, numbering about 135 million people, finds itself at a pivotal crossroads, facing both advances and significant challenges.

Despite being home to the world's largest LGBTQIA+ community, India fails to adequately support its queer population, suffering from low political recognition disproportionate to its size. This begs the question: Will India’s LGBTQIA+ community gain political representation in the 2024 general elections?

Last year, the Supreme Court's refusal to legalise gay marriage dealt a blow to equality efforts. This year's election marks a significant change as national-level political parties, for the first time, pledge to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples as part of their campaign promises.

The Indian National Congress, one of India's oldest political parties, in its manifesto, has announced intentions to introduce a law to recognise civil unions among LGBTQ+ couples.

Meghna Mehra, a 26-year-old LGBTQIA+ activist and founder of All India Queer Association (AIQA), expresses scepticism about the upcoming elections. According to Mehra, the absence of queer representation in the decision-making process unveils a lack of awareness and persistent homophobia and transphobia within the government.

"The current political climate doesn't seem very bright to me. I rarely see any queer representation in the decision-making process," Mehra told FairPlanet, citing concerns over the government's contestation of marriage equality in the Supreme Court and Minister Smriti Irani's remarks asking,

"Which gay men have a menstrual cycle?" were deemed transphobic and homophobic.

For the LGBTQIA+ community in India, key issues such as legal protection and recognition of same-sex relationships, inclusive representation in politics and protection of LGBTQ+ rights take centre stage in the 2024 general elections. Their collective voice resounds with an urgent call for marriage equality, recognition of diverse sexual identities and horizontal reservation of the trans community, which aims to allocate reserved seats across diverse identities rather than based solely on vertical categories like caste or ethnicity. It seeks to provide equitable opportunities for transgender individuals in areas such as government jobs, education and political representation, recognising the challenges they face due to societal discrimination.

Mehra pointed out the formidable barrier posed by the dominance of religion-based parties in realising these aspirations: "[As long as] they keep winning, all this seems like a distant dream."

Transgender representation in Indian politics

Mahamandaleshwar Hemangi Sakhi Ma's candidacy as the first transgender candidate in India, running for a parliamentary seat in the Varanasi constituency against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was seen by many as a pivotal moment for increased inclusivity. She is known as the world's first transgender narrator of the Bhagavad Gita, as noted on her Facebook page.

In a televised interview, Hemangi Sakhi Ma shared her motivations for contesting against PM Modi. She aims to highlight the lack of political representation for the transgender community. "Not one seat is reserved for transgender people. Why is that?" she questioned.

Critiquing the persistent marginalisation of her community, Hemangi Sakhi Ma asks, "Why is the trans community still begging on the streets, even with our PM in office? When will our lives change?"

She points out the government's selective approach to empowerment. "There's been almost a decade of 'Beti Bachao (Save the girl child, educate the girl child) campaign, but not 'Kinnar Bachao, Kinnar Padhao' (Save the Transgender, educate the Transgender); why hasn't the trans community been brought into the mainstream? They promise 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' (Unity and inclusive growth for all), but has everyone really progressed? There are still no transgender representatives in the parliament."

Transgender community advocates are pushing for recognition as 'Trans Shakti’ (Trans empowerment) for more electoral tickets in the Lok Sabha elections. They suggest that the focus on 'Nari Shakti’ (women empowerment) should extend to include 'Trans Shakti' to ensure proper recognition and representation.

In India, there is currently no specific law explicitly banning conversion therapy. Since the Supreme Court overturned Section 377 in 2018, the Indian Psychiatric Society affirmed that homosexuality is not a mental disorder, invalidating attempts to "cure" it. The Mental Health Care Act of 2017 mandates medical consent for treatment, offering some protection to the LGBTQIA+ community.

However, challenges remain in enforcing consent, especially when it comes to non-medical practitioners such as spiritual instructors.

Rohin Bhatt, a non-binary queer rights activist and a Supreme Court advocate, told FairPlanet of the overarching demands within the queer community, including accessible healthcare and gender-affirming care, a ban on conversion therapy, marriage equality and horizontal reservations.

Bhatt emphasised the importance of diversifying political representation, "Not one MP has been elected to either House of Parliament who has been openly queer. Queer people have been part of political parties as MLAs, councillors and spokespersons. But they are few and far between."

Samir, a 30-year-old artist from Delhi who preferred to go by their first name, shared with FairPlanet, "It's disheartening to see our concerns brushed aside. We're not just statistics; we're citizens with dreams and aspirations."

"As a queer person, every election reminds me that my concerns are still on the margins. We need leaders who understand and champion our rights," they added.

One of the most pressing concerns for the queer community is the lack of legal protection and recognition for their identities and relationships. There is still no law that grants equal rights to same-sex couples or recognises their marriages. This means that queer couples face discrimination and harassment in various spheres of life, such as housing, employment, health care, education and inheritance.

Moreover, they are vulnerable to violence from their families and society, especially in rural and conservative areas.

Mehra feels that as someone who identifies as queer, politics has a distinct impact on their life compared to their cisgender heterosexual counterparts.

"Being asexual, I am still not able to be legitimately identified as asexual. If I get married, there are laws that could be discriminatory for me," she added.

Reflecting on the LGBTQIA+ community at large, Mehra observed, "We with caste and class privileges sometimes do not understand the intensity of suffering that our people (LGBTQIA+ community) go through. Marriage equality would have provided legal support for those on the margins."

Mehra further recounted her difficulty finding space for her organisation's shelter home. "It took me months to find one as many landlords and brokers refused to provide space for the shelter of women and LGBTQIA+ community." She said that such discrimination is common and often goes unnoticed or unchallenged by the authorities.

Abhisar Kushwaha, a 19-year-old college student and a first-time voter, shared their views, "For me, there is some relief in the overall outlook of the LGBTQIA+ community only in a few senses, like decriminalisation of homosexuality, trans people visibility in colleges and universities and as political activists," they said.

This shift is significant given India's historical stance on LGBTQIA+ rights. Until 2018, homosexuality in India was deemed illegal under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, a colonial-era law. This legislation criminalised consensual same-sex relations, subjecting individuals to imprisonment for up to ten years.

"Though as far as the discussion goes for the LGBTQIA+ rights, it's not there in the political agenda, especially in a country like India where the politics are mostly and largely based on caste and nowadays catering to the religious identity to create religious homogeneity," Kushwaha said.

Kushwaha pointed to the impact of online activism and the strength it provides to the queer community. "Social media has given the queer community the strength to discuss the changes needed in the political system for a better society and acceptance within the general population."

But despite these positive strides, Kushwaha shared, societal attitudes toward the queer community remain essentially unchanged and often deemed abnormal. Expressing dissatisfaction with the political climate regarding queer rights, they asserted that it remains 'latent and invisible.'

"I don't see any national party or leader addressing our issues or concerns. We are still marginalised and discriminated against in many spheres of life." 

Image by Sneha Sivarajan.