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World National |
Judges urge liberalization in IndiaSUMMARY: Judges from South Africa and Australia are in India, where gay sex is a criminal offense, to lobby for a liberalization of the country's laws on homosexuality. DELHI, India -- Judges from South Africa and Australia are in India, where gay sex is a criminal offense, to lobby for a liberalization of the country's laws on homosexuality.
Australian Justice Michael Kirby and Justice Edwin Cameron of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa are men on a mission -- to sensitize Indians about the rights of sexual minorities. The jurists have been meeting with gay rights advocates across the country. "Australia had rules similar to the ones in India," Justice Kirby said, noting that statutory reforms were carried out following public campaigns, and added that India needs a similar public mobilization drive. "When I was a boy, the fact that I was gay was to be kept a deep, dark secret. We need to blow away that spell cast on people to keep quiet about their sexual identities," Justice Kirby said. Justice Cameron said that even when homosexual acts are decriminalized there is still much to do, "For instance in Australia, Justice Kirby is having a tough time ensuring that his partner of 33 years will get a pension in case of any unforeseen eventuality. "In South Africa, however, the constitution ensures that its citizens are protected from any discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation. The constitutional court has, in fact, also recognized the rights of gays and lesbians to a family life." In India, the Lawyers' Collective, a group of social activists in the legal profession, has filed a petition in the Delhi high court challenging the criminalization of homosexuality, arguing that it violates the Indian constitution, which guarantees equality. |
