The LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgenders, queer) community in the country is about to approach the state human rights commission to set up guidelines about reporting issues related to them. This has come about in the wake of a newspaper in a small town in the state writing a story that equated their lifestyle to sex trade.
In the week following the said article being published, gay right activists from all over the state had assembled in the town for a dialogue with the editor of the newspaper. The meeting was arranged in the local police headquarters. However, after making the activists wait for a considerable time, the editor slipped out saying he had some urgent work outside the city. Numerous letters to the newspaper and the owners of the media group were answered by means of a follow up article, which also did not help the cause.
“It is difficult for most gay people to ‘come out’. With such discriminatory articles, not only would they be discouraged from revealing themselves but the society would never have a positive opinion of our community,” said Sonal Giani, advocacy officer of Mumbai-based NGO Humsafar Trust, one of the first organizations to promote gay rights in the country. She was among the activists waiting in the police commissioner’s office for a meeting that never happened. The activists also staged a sit-in protest later.
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