From The Blog
Relevant posts from Our Voices – The Orinam Blog
How the Anti- Discrimination and Equality Bill affects the LGBT Community and Those Perceived to Belong to the LGBT Community (4/3/2017) - Surabhi Shukla lists salient features and some concerns that Shashi Tharoor's non-discrimination bill poses to the LGBT community in India
Anil Divan: A friend of the LGBT community (3/23/2017) - Mr. Anil Divan’s commitment to LGBT rights was a part of his broader commitment to constitutional principles and the rule of law.
Seeking participants for legal research study on queer/trans* relationships in India (6/26/2016) - Legal scholar in Bengaluru seeks participants for a study on the impact of laws relating to queer/trans couples from India
- Undetermined Discriminations: Trans* persons Rights Emerging post 2014 in India (10/19/2015) - Cases such as Sumita Kumari v. State of West Bengal violate NALSA and show the lack of understanding of multiple disadvantages and discrimination faced by transgender people in India, writes Akhil Kang.
Affirming transman’s right to self-determination and dignity: Bhat vs. NCT of Delhi and ors. (10/6/2015) - Hon'ble Justice Siddharth Mridul's Delhi High Court (Oct 5, 2015) judgement in the Shivy case affirms the rights of transpeople to self-determination and lives of dignity.
Kerala’s draft transgender policy (2015) (9/22/2015) - The 19-page draft state policy for transgender people in Kerala (2015), prepared by the state's Department of Social Justice is available for review and feedback here.
- NALSA and beyond: presentation on transgender people and Indian laws (8/31/2015) - Presentation on transgender rights and the law, from the workshop-discussion facilitated by Siddharth Narrain at Nazariya, Delhi, in August 2015.
- External Affairs not compliant with Supreme Court ruling on transgender rights (6/3/2015) - Adding a third gender or "T" category does not suffice to make the Ministry of External Affairs NALSA-compliant if it stills requires proof of surgery for recording a change of gender. Further, not all transgender people seek to identify as "T", and are at liberty to identify as M or F, per the judgement.
- FTM and Intersex inclusion in NALSA? Jackuline Mary vs. The Superintendent of Police, Karur (5/6/2014) - Orinam looks at Justice Nagamuthu's Madras High Court ruling on April 17, 2014, and its implications for intersex people and transmen.
- Gay man from India bravely handles blackmailers he met on a dating website (3/4/2014) - Story of a gay man who bravely handled blackmailers he met on a dating website
- Tamil Nadu Rainbow Coalition organizes 377 protest rally at Valluvar Kottam Chennai (1/11/2014) - Call for protection of rights of sexual and gender minorities: Rally at Valluvar Kottam, Chennai, January 11, 2014 3-430 PM Tamil Nadu Rainbow Coalition is a network of groups in the state working on human rights and health issues, […]
Poem: love or hate? (1/8/2014) - they banned our love, saying we can't procreate; is that a reason to deny love? do they conceive, every time they mate?
Justice Verma Committee report on rape laws addresses sexuality concerns (1/24/2013) - Text of Justice Verma Committee report [downloadable pdf], highlights including proposed amendments, and the Committee's observations on the need for decriminalizing homosexuality and imparting sexuality education.
Human Chain Against Sexual Violence – 29 December, 4 pm, Elliots Beach (12/25/2012) - We invite you to come to Besant Nagar Beach on 29th December at 4 pm to engage in a protest and conversation on sexual violence.
Tamil Translation of Kavita’s speech on Violence Against Women (12/23/2012) - AIPWA Secretary Kavita Krishnan on violence against women and the recent Delhi gang rape incident
First anniversary of Hillary Clinton’s historic speech on LGBT rights. Tamil translation now available on Orinam.net (12/6/2012) - Tamil translation of Hillary Clinton's historic speech on LGBT rights
Dharun Ravi Sentenced (5/21/2012) - Dharun Ravi, an Indian citizen living in New Jersey was sentenced by the Middlesex county courthouse today in the NJ vs Dharun Ravi case.
R.I.P. Anil/Mariya (5/11/2012) - On May 10th, Anil Sadanandan (who also went by Mariya), a trans activist living and working in Kerala, India was brutally murdered.
President Obama Affirms His Support for Same Sex Marriage (5/10/2012) - President Obama today announced that he now supports same-sex marriage, reversing his longstanding opposition amid growing pressure from the Democratic base and even his own vice president.
Thanking Anjali (4/20/2012) - It is absolutely fantastic to see Anjali Gopalan on this year's Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People list, says Vikram
Dharun and Ravi: Two Different Worlds (3/12/2012) - Dharun Ravi and his father Ravi Pazhani are from two different worlds. Is Dharun's alleged homophobia a result of cultural conflict between these two worlds?
- Tyler Clementi and Dharun Ravi (3/12/2012) - Ian Parker, writing for the New Yorker, has an absolutely must read story that goes in depth into the tragic story of Tyler Clementi and Dharun Ravi. People may remember this story from about a year and a half back. Tyler Clementi was a freshman student […]
California Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional, Court rules! (2/7/2012) - A federal appeals court Tuesday struck down California's ban on same-sex marriage, clearing the way for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on gay marriage as early as next year.
Fundraiser faces Fundie: a report of homophobia in Mumbai (1/14/2012) - Ed: This report by Pallav describes an incident at the Friday Jan 13, 2012, fundraiser for Mumbai’s Queer Azaadi March. It is being shared on Orinam with consent of the author. Follow the QAM blog for updates, and support their […]
without any window of His own: a video from Bangladesh (1/13/2012) - This video describes the issues and concerns of the gay community in Bangladesh, including the colonial law Section 377 it shares with India.
- Media Release: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanetham Pillay Publishes Groundbreaking Report On Violence Against LGBTI People (12/15/2011) - Historic United Nations report documents widespread discrimination and violence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people worldwide, and calls on countries to apply the international legal framework to end these human rights violations.
Afsana, Bina, Mukti, Sangita, Sunita: our heroes too! (12/15/2011) - Forced marriages of LGBT people are as unethical as child marriage, and resisting such marriages requires precisely the sort of courage that these girls from Purulia demonstrated.
Hillary Clinton cites Naz judgement in historic UN Human Rights address, announces global equality fund for LGBTs (12/7/2011) - United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made reference to the Naz judgement and the tenet of inclusiveness as an underlying theme of the Indian constitution in her historic address on LGBT rights at the United Nations.
Bangalore’s brush with homophobia on the night of the Gay Pride 2011 (11/30/2011) - "I have been at my wit’s end grappling and struggling to come to terms with a rather unsavoury and a nasty incident that two of my gay friends A and B, my boyfriend and I have had to face and suffer – quite ironically – on the night of the LGBTIQ Pride in Bangalore."
Homophobia: An experience at Hotel Accord, Chennai (10/26/2011) - MP list member Srivath's personal account - Homophobia: An experience at Hotel Accord, Chennai
Junior Vikatan coverage of Chennai protests against Azad (7/16/2011) - Thanks to Kavin Malar from Junior Vikatan, for the positive coverage of Chennai protests against Indian health minister Azad's homophobia.
This post is also available in: தமிழ் (Tamil)