Category: India

Articles India LGBTQ+ News Life News Openly

Gay, teenaged and online: LGBTQ+ Indians fight for safe space

admin, , , ,

The suicide of a 16-year-old Indian boy who hit a wall of online abuse after posting selfies in saris and makeup has galavanised calls for social media giants to better protect LGBTQIA+ Indians. Content warning: This story includes topics that could make some readers feel uncomfortable and/or upset. Sexual minorities say it is hard enough being openly gay or trans in India, and the pressure only mounts in the online world where advocates blame weak content moderation for an explosion in derogatory feedback. “In India, the online abuse faced by…

Read More
Articles Asylum Georgia Government Home Office Immigration Law Practitioners' Association India LGBTQ+ News Life News Originals Politics Rainbow Migration Suella Braverman UK

UK condemned over deeming India and Georgia ‘safe’ for people fleeing persecution

admin, , , ,

Plans to deem India and Georgia ‘safe’ countries to send people seeking asylum in the UK to are being fiercely criticised by migration organisations.  Late last year, the government announced its intention to update the ‘safe states’ list in the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 in order “to speed up the process of returning people who have travelled from either country illegally.” Suella Braverman, who was Home Secretary at the time, said this was part of delivering on the highly controversial Illegal Migration Act, which makes it possible for…

Read More
Articles Explainer India japan LGBTQ+ News Life Nepal News Openly

LGBTQ+ rights in Asia: Progress and setbacks in 2023

admin, , , ,

There have been gains and setbacks on LGBTQIA+ rights in Asia this year, ranging from the first same-sex marriages in Nepal to South Korea’s decision to uphold a ban on gay relations in the military. From Afghanistan and Malaysia to the Maldives, gay sex remains a crime, according to a 2023 report by the Human Dignity Trust, a rights group. Here is a look at developments in Asia in 2023. India The country’s Supreme Court declined to legalise same-sex marriage in October, dealing a blow to the hopes of LGBTQIA+…

Read More
Articles India LGBTQ+ News Life Manipur News Openly Trans

Makeover in Manipur: Trans-run beauty salons brave bloodshed

admin, , , ,

It’s hard to style hair, pluck brows and do makeovers when armed troops are on the streets suppressing months of deadly clashes. Harder still if you’re a transgender 30-something running a professional salon in socially conservative India. But Bobbii Laishram is not ready to quit her job yet. “I set up Bobbii Hair Art Studio in September of 2012,” Laishram told Openly in a phone interview. “I like styling, so after passing out of school, I took a beautician and hair course,” said Laishram, winner of the 2010 trans beauty…

Read More
Articles India LGBTQ+ News Life News Openly Same-sex marriage

Five years free: A new life for many LGBTQ+ Indians

admin, , , ,

Hemant Kumar dreams of living a simple life – with a loving husband, doting daughter and all the respectability that comes from being an old-fashioned family man in small-town India. Five years ago, Kumar thought that was just a pipe dream. But a historic 2018 ruling by the country’s Supreme Court to decriminalise homosexuality opened the door to love for millions of LGBTQ+ Indians like Kumar who live in small cities and towns around the country. Now the 21-year-old student dares to dream of finding love, living openly with another…

Read More
Articles India LGBTQ+ News Life Marriage News Openly Same-sex marriage

Recognise our love, says Indian couple in same-sex marriage case

admin, , , ,

Even after their wedding, Indian gay couple Supriyo Chakraborty and Abhay Dang hesitated to use the word “husband” to refer to each other – conscious that their country does not recognise same-sex marriage. “If anyone asks us if we’re married, I take two to three seconds pause to decide, shall I say yes or no?” Chakraborty told Openly during an interview in the couple’s home in the southern city of Hyderabad. “Because legally we are not.” The pair, who met on a dating app and have lived together for over…

Read More
Articles HIV HIV/AIDS India LGBTQ+ News Life News Openly PrEP

Indian LGBTQ+ groups push to widen access to HIV prevention drug PrEP

admin, , , ,

Every morning, Neharika Ravalkar takes a pill that stops her joining the millions of Indians who are HIV-positive. As a trans woman, Ravalkar is among the groups at highest risk of HIV. But she is among a lucky minority taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication as cost, lack of awareness and stigma all hamper access in the South Asian nation. “PrEP is like a bodyguard for me,” said Ravalkar, who primarily scrapes a living from begging in Pune, western India “I’ve been helping people in my community to take it and…

Read More
Articles India LGBTQ+ families LGBTQ+ News Life News Trans

Trans man cries ‘tears of joy’ after becoming ‘first to give birth in India’

admin, , , ,

A transgender couple from the Indian state of Kerala shared their “tears of joy” as they announced the birth of their first child together. Ziya Paval said her partner Zahad, who uses only one name, gave birth on the morning of 8 February. The two are believed to have made history in India as “no one else has called themselves a biological parent in the transgender community as far as we know,” they told the BBC. The couple said that it was their dream to become parents. They are yet…

Read More
Articles India LGBTQ+ News LGBTQ+ relationship Life Marriage New Delhi News same-sex Same-sex marriage

“It’s happening”: Thousands march for same-sex marriage in India

admin, , , ,

Thousands of LGBTQ+ people and their allies took to the streets of New Delhi, India on 8 January to march for same-sex marriage. More than 2,000 people joined the Delhi Queer Pride March when it made its return after not taking place for the last three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Protesters walked more than an hour so they could be near the country’s parliament, with the legalisation of same-sex marriage at the forefront of their minds as India edges closer to making it a reality. Vishal Rai, a…

Read More
Copyright © All Right Reserved Online Shop by Acme Themes
FREE SHIPPING Worldwide On All Orders! #QUEERKSRead our Shipping & Delivery FAQs for details.
+ +