Same-sex marriage: ‘It’s a massive disappointment’

Curated by Aastha Atray Banan Jane Borges Arpika Bhosale and Reet MulchandanilsquoIf we go down we go down in flamesrsquoldquoWe went in with the lowest expectations But when the CJI started talking we thought he was making sense We were a little hopeful Midway though we realised that itrsquos not happening Samesex marriage will not be legalised Itrsquos a massive disappointment Our purview of marriage is not what the traditional view is Itrsquos not the horses the mandap the whole celebration We donrsquot want that We want civil rights It is shameful that this is the takeNavin Noronha comedianThe Supreme Court is who we look up to to have the wherewithal to grant us our rights Couples have existed since ages itrsquos been decades But that doesnrsquot change the fact that we canrsquot have a joint bank account I canrsquot add my partner to any of my legal documents They expect us to be proud of this country while treating us as secondclass citizens We were already far away now we have only been furthered away from our rightsI donrsquot see any hope at least not for the next five years The SC is plain chicken with the government and until we elect an empathic government nothing will change They the government has said multiple times that they are against samesex marriage Itrsquos ironic that they want to emulate the westUSA Australiain terms of trade technology global power when they had legalised gay marriage long ago But I love my country If I wanted to move I wouldrsquove done it a long time ago From travelling performing in different parts Irsquove seen that it is a very queer country Irsquom here to stay If I die I die here Now we hunker down we come together and fight harder If we go down we go down in flameslsquoMy hope was that at least civil unions would be legalisedrsquoVishaal Asrani actordirectorwriter and codirector Vishaal Asranirsquos Institute of Performing Arts says Though I have been watching the live proceedings in court since Day 1 I knew that with the kind of laws our country has and how the judiciary cannot interfere in the legislation the judgesrsquo hands were tied Even if they were sympathetic to our cause there is only so much that they could do So yes I wasnrsquot really shocked by the verdict But I am definitely disappointed because somewhere therersquos this glimmer of hope that keeps us goingVishaal Asrani right with Jiji Subi Asranirsquos Institute of Performing ArtsMy hope was that at least civil unions would be legalised It would have been easy to grant without creating any disharmony in the nation This was the least that they could have done for the LGBTQiA community Nobody was expecting them to go the whole hog But wersquove now been told that the state has no obligation to validate the same That is heartbreaking Itrsquos been 15 years and my marriage in San Francisco is yet to be validated It was sad enough that Jiji Subi and I had to fly abroad to have a stranger be our witness and celebrate our wedding I remember when we returned to our own country we had to stand in two separate lines for immigration In some way it is denying the minority their rights because the majority doesnrsquot agree with itThere are a few positives of course Now the court has given a directive that the police must offer protection to LGBTQiA people when required Years ago we had to go and ask for protection from the police for Jiji and me because he was threatened by his relatives Even my parents came with us At that time the police had refused to do so This is a great step forward for our community But otherwise this new judgment hasnrsquot changed anything for us You gave us the hope that wersquod be at par with other citizens but you have given us nothing The only good thing is that there was a conversation Otherwise our hope today has been pulled out like a carpet from under us without us even knowinglsquoThere is no use fighting nowrsquoShakti Waghela a transwoman who works in mental health sectorldquoI am disappointed but not surprised I had taken workfromhome because I knew today the verdict will be there today and didnrsquot want the pressure of people staring at me the whole time This is heartbreaking and we donrsquot know what to do next I think everyone is just trying to pick themselves up and think of what to do next I was truly disappointed and I tuned in to see the verdict with my friends we were all online and you could hear everyone quiet down as the realisation of what just happened kicked in A lot of my friends felt that this is it and there is no point in fighting for this anymore The only positive takeaway was the fact that the language used by the CJI was very sensitive he acknowledged that we have rights but at the end of the day it also felt like them saying lsquoWe see you and hear you but there is nothing we can do for yoursquordquolsquoYour rights are in othersrsquo handsrsquoldquoIt must be very disheartening for those who expected the courts to work in their favour to hear the judgment Acknowledging queer lives and saying they should have similar legal entitlements that cisheterosexual citizens enjoy in various spheres of life is not the same as telling exactly how that should be implemented Lip service when it comes to matters of human rights from institutions that are responsible for granting and protecting them is not an adequate response This is a universal issue when arguing for Queer rightsAroh Akunth Dalit Queer ProjectHow institutions let you in is not about your wellbeing but their status quo your rights in the hands of others your lives in the words of others How cis heterosexuals engage with you do they want to be progressiveregressive welcominghow welcomingThey are even allowed to say yoursquore not welcome The very framing of the judgment is a testimony to this continuing criminalisation of Queer lives in India and elsewhere I feel any future strategizing concerning Queer rights in India must learn from the failures in ensuring the rights of Queer folks outside the framework of marriage and the limitations that the legalization of Queer marriages brings with it in countries where it is allowed We love to talk about how diverse our region is but seldom do we talk about how unequal and unjust a conversation about rights is incomplete and ineffective without the latterrdquolsquoWe are here to stayrsquoGlorious Luna cofounder Current Management that represents queer talentItrsquos definitely what I didnrsquot want to hear but did I expect this Yes We filed this petition because we want to be able to have legal partnersspouses and be allowed to make financial and medical decisions This is our fundamental right and we were denied I think itrsquos going to take decades for our country and we will continue to fight We are here to staylsquoWe are not back to square one we are worse nowrsquoKabeer a queer influencer says I am not feeling very good about todayrsquos verdict I am disappointed because of the way this judgment was presentedmdashit said all the right things but it didnrsquot do anything in the end While the intent is great when something wrong seems to be happening intent doesnrsquot matter impact does When they the judges say that they all unanimously agree that the right to marriage is not a fundamental right for the LGBTQiA community what they fail to understand is that by doing this they are bolstering the existing narrative and only adding to the problems of societyQueer influencer couple and former RJs Yogi and KabeerThis is very disorienting for the entire communitymdashI donrsquot see it as a setback for the LGBTQiA community alone Yes I have always wanted to marry and in my country but this is not even a question of whether I want to do it Itrsquos about ldquowill I get to do itrdquo Marriage validates a lot of things in our country it gives us privileges Personally I would have been okay with them saying ldquomarriage is a touchy subject so why donrsquot we give you civil partnershiprdquo But even that didnrsquot come through We are not back to square one we are worse now