LGBTQI+ rights found an important place on the agenda of the United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who was in India on a two-day visit to discuss US-India cooperation against the backdrop of a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, the COVID-19 pandemic, and climate change. During her stay in Mumbai, she met with a group of LGBTQI+ activists.
On the night of October 7, Sherman tweeted, “I had an engaging discussion with members of India’s LGBTQI+ community. I was so impressed hearing about their pioneering work to advance the rights of LGBTQI+ people in India. Together, we can build a safe and inclusive society for all.”
Zainab Patel, Sakshi Juneja, Vivek Anand, Sylvester Merchant and Harish Iyer were the activists she spoke with. Patel, director of diversity and inclusion at KPMG, was one of the petitioners in the National Legal Services Authority v Union of India case on transgender rights. Juneja is the co-founder of Gaysi Family, a media platform and safe zone for queer desis. Anand is the CEO of Humsafar Trust. Iyer heads diversity, equity and inclusion at Axis Bank. Merchant is co-founder of Lakshya Trust.
Earlier in the day, she spoke at length about her country’s interest in promoting LGBTQI+ rights during a webinar moderated by Jamshyd Godrej who is the chairman of the Ananta Centre. In response to a query about US-India collaboration on LGBTQI+ issues, she said, “I had the real privilege of meeting with a group of LGBTQI+ activists this morning. I was really profoundly moved by not only who they were but what they have done and what they are doing.”
She added, “I have come to India for many years…the change is really quite amazing in a very good way. I can’t imagine a decade ago I would have come here and anyone would have showed up for such a meeting. And, in my own country, it has been a long time coming to where we are. And we still have violence, and we still have struggles. But I was really heartened by the courage, the activism, the clarity of the folks with whom I have met today.”
The American diplomat’s words were in keeping with US President Joe Biden’s Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Persons Around the World published on the White House website in February 2021.
Patel said that the interaction with Sherman was very welcome, especially at a time when human rights issues around LGBTQI+ rights in India and South Asia have started gaining more traction. She hopes that the meeting with Sherman is one of many steps in “generating partnerships, and greater dialogue between the US government agencies and LGBTQI+ civil society groups in India” to advocate for “protective laws and policies” and to support “community empowerment and mobilization.”
Juneja said that queerness is not only about gender identity and sexual orientation but also about philosophy, sensibility, politics and alternatives to structures normalized in contemporary society. Recalling the meeting with Sherman, she said, “It is always good to engage in discussions with thought leaders with empathetic ears. The US Deputy Secretary and their office do have the power to impact minds of those in power in India, and the Indian society at large via their human rights and inclusivity initiatives. One is hoping to see further aggressive push from them, not limiting to metro and urban Indian cities.”
Iyer felt that Sherman came across as an open-minded person who had already done thorough research about the LGBTQI+ community in India. The fact that each activist's name tag also mentioned their preferred pronouns gave him a positive feeling. He said, “She gave adequate time to each person, and was appreciative of our work. She wanted to get a pulse of what our world is all about, and know what kind of support we need to strengthen our work."
Anand, whose organization had partnered with the US Consulate in Mumbai to host the One World International Queer Film Festival in June 2021, said, “I am sure that this meeting will strengthen our relationship with US government and will forge new avenues in amplifying our visibility and rights.”
In conversation with Godrej, Sherman said, “I have raised these issues with the government here (in India). I raise them everywhere. We are committed to this. I had the privilege of raising the pride flag at the US State Department for the first time this year…In every consulate, we raise the flag because it’s important to say that everybody should be able to live with dignity and to love who they love.”
Sherman did not comment specifically on the court petitions for legal recognition of same-sex marriage in India. Incidentally, one of these has been filed by Vaibhav Jain, an Indian citizen, and Parag Vijay Mehta, an Overseas Citizen of India. This couple currently lives in the US. They got married to each other in Washington, DC, but when they went to the Indian Consulate in New York to get the marriage registered under the Foreign Marriage Act, the request was rejected.
Sherman told Godrej, “I know that there are cultural, traditional and religious barriers for a lot of people. I respect that people may have different views…but if this is who someone is, in your family, for the most part people love their children, their parents, their aunts and uncles unconditionally.”
We reached out to David J. Ranz, Consul General, US Consulate General, Mumbai, to connect Sherman’s remarks and the consulate’s recent events and programmes that have featured various LGBTQI+ activists, filmmakers, artists, models including Faraz Arif Ansari, Gazal Dhaliwal, Shivangi Agrawal, Sridhar Rangayan, Onir, Winnie Chopra, Gurleen Arora, Anjali Lama and Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, Sonal Giani, L. Ramakrishnan, Natasha, Sushant Divgikr, among others.
Ranz said, “While the LGBTQI+ community in Western India has made bold and, in some cases, courageous strides toward gaining mainstream acceptance, widespread social discrimination and stigmatization against queer people remains pervasive in part because of the lack of open discussion around traditionally taboo subjects.” His team has been convening monthly Beyond the Binary dialogues to raise awareness about LGBTQI+ people’s lived experiences, issues and struggles.
They have also been running a digital campaign called #OutAndProud focusing on coming out stories.
Ranz added, “The United States stands in solidarity with LGBTQI+ communities around the world in their pursuit of justice and equality…the US government is pursuing an end to violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics, to advance the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons in India, just as it is doing around the world.”
Some of their Indian LGBTQI+ events have been moderated by Alexander Hunt, Vice Consul, US Consulate General, Mumbai. He is the Consulate Representative of Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA). It represents LGBTQI personnel, their families and straight allies in the US Department of State, US Agency for International Development (USAID), Foreign Commercial Service, Foreign Agricultural Service, Peace Corps and other foreign affairs offices of the US Government.
Hunt said, “GLIFAA works to secure fair treatment of LGBTQI+ colleagues in the United States and overseas. Through GLIFAA, we engage with partner organizations in the US and internationally to break down barriers resulting from prejudice, misunderstanding or apathy within our institutions for foreign service, civil service, contract, or other employees.”
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