Tag: Marriage | Varta Trust

This image shows a still from the award-winning documentary film ‘Amma’s Pride’ directed by Shiva Krish. In the image, Srija, the main protagonist of the film is seen smiling and talking on her mobile phone, while Valli, her mother, looks on standing next to her also smiling brightly. Mother and daughter are both inside their house, and in the background can be seen sundry household objects placed on shelves or hanging on walls. The background objects have been slightly blurred to enhance the focus on Srija and Valli. Image courtesy Shiva Krish

Pursuing resilience, embracing hope

By Meghjit Sengupta, Pawan Dhall

Meghjit Sengupta reflects on an event centred around award-winning documentary ‘Amma’s Pride’, the story of transgender woman Srija whose marriage to Arunkumar, a cisgender man, in 2019 set a legal...

Quote: Tamil Nadu’s draft gender and sexual minority policy does not simply make a claim for marriage equality for queer persons but nudges the State to reimagine the family beyond kinship and marriage. By doing so it focuses on the functional conceptualisation of the family, namely what families should do, as opposed to the form of the family, namely what families should look like. A functional approach thus seeks to centre values of mutual care, love and dependence as definitive of a family, as opposed to only marriage and biological relatedness. The draft policy thus marks an entry into a radical possibility of family law expanding beyond its narrow normative foundations.

Insight May '24

Queering the family: Tamil Nadu shows the way

By Namrata

Namrata writes about the developments around the Deed of Familial Association in Tamil Nadu and how it can lead to recognition of queer relationships

This illustration is a combination of a horizontally oriented photograph and text extracted from the accompanying article. The photograph shows a daytime mid-range shot of a large duck crossing a forest pathway with six of its ducklings. The parent bird can be seen to the extreme right side of the photograph facing left, while the ducklings are walking ahead of or next to the parent bird. One of the ducklings is ahead of the rest, striding confidently away. The pathway is partially lit up with sunlight, while the rest is under the shadow of trees. The extracted text says: “I want to tell all the parents that your responsibility is to ensure your children are safe and loved. Nothing else. You do not have to decide what career your children should pursue, or who they should love or marry, if at all they want to marry. Your children, queer or not, will find their way through life.”

Insight Jan '24

Taking marriage off the checklist of parental duties

By Mahua Seth

Can we look at parenting with wonder and curiosity instead of compulsively controlling our children’s lives, asks Mahua Seth

This photograph is an example of fine-art photography, consisting of several intersecting frames within an overall frame created by the unpainted red-brown brick walls of a poor household, lit up only with daylight from outside. To the left of the photograph is a woman dressed in a patterned cotton saree, worn in a style common in Bengal, wearing ‘shankha-pola’ in her hands, and leaning against a wall, which seems to be at the entrance of her house. She is looking down at the camera as the photographer seems to be seated on the floor. Her face is shrouded in half-light and she seems to have a grim demeanour. A younger person is seated on the floor next to her holding up a vertically rectangular frame that seems to be made of glass. The person is not visible, only a part of their head and hands holding up the frame are visible in the photograph. The frame shows the portion of an open window with an ornate grill design. Greenery is visible outside the window. Inside, just below the window and next to an unpainted brick wall, food is cooking in a pan placed on a mud ‘chulha’. A ladle is placed in the pan. Next to the ‘chulha’ seems to be a pile of twigs and wood shavings, possibly for use in the ‘chulha’. An interesting interplay of light, shadow and subdued colours dominates the photograph. Photo credit: Debalina

Insight, Policy Matters Nov '23

Domestic violence and disabled women – reflections from the field

By Dr. Nandini Ghosh

Domestic violence and lack of access to legal redress still pose serious challenges to the wellbeing of disabled women in India, says Dr. Nandini Ghosh

Quote: Justice Bhat issued a direction to the State to address the discrimination that trans and queer couples face in relation to social welfare entitlements and employment benefits in cases where such benefits can only be available to legally married couples. Justice Chandrachud spoke about the urgent need for anti-discrimination laws which prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and give full effect to all civil and social rights of trans and queer persons. Justice Kaul agreed with him on the need for an anti-discrimination law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Advice - Rights and Laws, Vartanama Oct '23

Anti-discrimination mantra for long and happy trans and queer lives (married or not)

By Namrata

Namrata examines the Supreme Court’s marriage equality verdict and suggests further advocacy and litigation possibilities for queer activists and lawyers – with inputs from Lalit Panda, Senior Resident Fellow (Charkha),...

This illustration is a combination of a photograph and text extracted from the accompanying article. The photograph shows a midrange, semi silhouette shot of the author standing barefoot on a sea beach during sunrise. She has her back to the camera, looking out at the open sea. The sea water laps at her feet. Barring a small wave at some distance from the author, the surface of the sea is a calm golden, reflecting the light of the sun still low on the horizon. The sea water seems to extend indefinitely and one cannot make out where it merges with the sky. The accompanying text says: “Despite everything, I’m hopeful about the upcoming 10 years. Our community is resilient and deeply engaged in the resistance against oppression. In 10 years from now, we may yet be able to have better queer representation at the government level. We may yet succeed in pushing gender and sexuality education at the school level, and gain horizontal reservation for the trans community in the spheres of education and employment. I believe that the process of queer inclusion will be gradual but it can’t be stopped or reversed.” Photo courtesy Meghna Mehra

Commentary Oct '23

Wishlist for queer pride and asexual visibility

By Meghna Mehra

Meghna Mehra believes that the future will be queer, along with freer expressions of asexuality becoming a reality in India and elsewhere in the next 10 years

This illustration is a combination of a photograph and text extracted from the accompanying article. The photograph shows the author Rituparna Borah participating in the ‘Delhi Queer Pride’ in 2009. She is walking under a mammoth six-coloured rainbow pride flag, holding up the flag with her hands, smiling and looking sideways towards the camera, though not at the camera. The sunlight filtering through the flag is lighting up all the colours. In the background, towards the bottom left edge of the photograph, several other pride walkers can be seen. The accompanying text says: “I am not claiming here that there will be no fights or power dynamics, yet I hope that we can solve our issues not by calling out but with chai, samosas, tears, hugs and then some drinks! I still believe that we can create a reality where intersecting marginalized identities are part and parcel of queer-trans feminism(s), and no one has to prove how marginalized they are to get the rights they deserve.” Photo courtesy Voices Against 377

Commentary Aug '23

In loving memory of discourse

By Rituparna Borah

Rituparna Borah wishes for yesterday once more in debates and dialogues around gender and sexuality – her thoughts for the future on ‘Varta’ webzine completing 10 years

Quote: Somewhere amid all these positives, I also expect queer people with disabilities to be more visible, do well in life, and not be silenced in both queer and disability communities. Homophobic, transphobic and ableist people will still be around, but they may well be pushed to the fringes. A decade hence we may sit down and compare the predictions made by various authors on the pages of Varta and calculate the percentage of those that have come true.

My Story Aug '23

Cautious predictions for 2033 CE

By Rajib Chakrabarti

On ‘Varta’ webzine completing 10 years, Rajib Chakrabarti writes about the changes he expects to see for queer people and persons with disabilities a decade from now

This is a close-up indoor shot of a pile of six mid-sized ‘motichoor’ laddus placed on parchment paper on a black plate. The gorgeous and mouthwatering orange colour of the laddus is marked with specs of green, red and white condiments. The background of the photograph is blurred to enhance the appeal of the laddus. Main photo credit: Priyam1307 via ‘Wikimedia Commons’

Vartanama Apr '23

All this marriage (equality) talk!

By Pawan Dhall

Pawan Dhall has something to say to argumentative Indians who’ve been bickering over who can have the marriage laddu and who can have only the laddu

This illustration is a combination of a graphic and an extract from the accompanying article on marriage equality in India. The graphic shows a floral photo frame (orange flowers interspersed with green leaves), but the space for the photo is empty. This is symbolic of the assertion in the article that everyone should be free to fill up this space in the way they find it meaningful – the photo in the frame need not be one of marriage. The extract from the article says: “Of all the petitions on marriage equality being heard by the Supreme Court, the one that stands out is Rituparna Borah & Others Vs. Union of India, which has been filed by four queer-feminist activists and three anonymized couples. The prayers in it go beyond the legal recognition of same sex / same gender marriages. It argues that rather than just rule on the constitutional validity of marriage equality, the court should also grapple with the issue of family diversity as well as protect queer people who face violence from natal families, those who may not want to get married but should be entitled to other rights traditionally emanating from marriage, and those who want to get married, but do not have support from their families.” Graphic credit: OpenClipart on ‘Wikimedia Commons’

Insight, Policy Matters Apr '23

Marriage equality – petitions, pushback and politics

By Namrata, Shreyashi

Namrata and Shreyashi trace the developments in the marriage equality litigation and bring to light issues and claims from queer activists that go beyond marriage equality

Quote: The Internet today is scattered with advice on the importance of friendships. A recent Bumble survey found that many more Indians seek platonic friendships today. Within the terrain of social and legal recognition, proposals have been placed before the Indian State to recognize friendships and other significant relationships outside the natal family in the form of a ‘legal representative’. Something has shifted in the mythological place romance holds in our lives. And while we may not have stopped worshipping at its altar, we are slowly coming to terms with the fact that it may not be the only worthwhile way of pursuing intimacy in the 21st century.

Insight Mar '23

Re-imagining intimacy, re-configuring kinship: Some notes on friendship

By Diksha Sanyal

Diksha Sanyal writes about intimacies and relationships beyond romance in the current Indian context, and invites you to share your thoughts – this is the first in a series of...

This illustration is a poster of the film ‘Gay India Matrimony’. On a deep-yellow background sprinkled with multi-coloured hearts and stars, the name of the film is presented in stylized text in English and Hindi inside a heart shape created by a wedding garland. The garland is white with patterns of green and red. Dangling from the lower end of the garland are the symbols for love between two women and between two men, and another that depicts transgender identity. The film credits are provided at the bottom of the poster in English and Hindi. Poster artwork credit: Abhro Banerjee

Cinemascope Apr '22

Queering the marriage story pitch

By Karthik Hebbar

Karthik Hebbar reviews 'Gay India Matrimony', a documentary film by Debalina, one of India’s most exciting queer filmmakers

This rectangular graphic contains text that says: “In effect, the proposed amendment has divided adult Indian women into two categories for whom the chasm of choice, autonomy, and education widens everyday. Women in the first section are financially empowered and can marry at any age according to their wish. Coming from rich households, they can access several opportunities and some degree of financial independence. Women in the second section have little to no access to education, especially secondary education, as they belong to poorer households. These factors make women in this section statistically more likely to have a child marriage. But if they marry before 21, the marriage will not be legally recognised as per the proposed amendment.” The text is presented against a background that has patterns and colours symbolic of wedding decoration, clothes and festivities (primarily different shades of oranges and reds). The background design is borrowed from the MS Power Point software.

Insight, Policy Matters Dec '21

Can increasing women’s marriageable age alone enhance their life options?

By Sankalpita Mullick, Sudhasri Yadavalli

Sankalpita Mullick and Sudhasri Yadavalli analyse the controversial Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021

This photograph is a striking long shot of the early morning sky taken from the balcony in Mayuri’s home. A major part of this vertical oriented photograph consists of silver-white clouds flecking a blue sky like a carpet right up to the horizon, where a rising sun has painted the sky in hues of orange and pink. A few buildings and trees can be seen in the near distance, somewhat still in the dark, with a number of hills rising behind them in the far distance. The entire scene is one of morning calm symbolizing peace and positivity. Photo credit: Mayuri

Coronavirus Diary, Insight, People Oct '20

Lockdown takeaways: Achieving higher ground

By Shivalal Gautam

In this second paired narrative of queer lives during the lockdown in Assam, Shivalal Gautam tells us how two queer women negotiated multiple trials and reached a better place in...

The graphic shows a circular word cloud formed with terms and expressions used in the accompanying article. For example, ‘domestic violence’, ‘marriage’, ‘coercion’, ‘family violence’, ‘eviction’, ‘threats’, ‘police’, ‘queer’ and so on. The text in the word cloud is in a light colour and stands against a background of deep blue. The circular word cloud is itself placed on a black rectangular shape with fuzzy outlines, and this rectangle is placed on a background made up of the rainbow pride flag colours. The word cloud, the rectangle and their colouration are meant to symbolize a reality check when it comes to the experiences of queer people in India even after decriminalization. Graphic credit: Pawan Dhall

Advice - Rights and Laws Sep '20

Stay home, stay safe?

By Diksha Sanyal

COVID-19 lockdowns may eventually go, but domestic violence against queer persons not quite so. Diksha Sanyal offers some legal solutions

Quote: The Madras High Court, emphasising on the spirit of the Constitution that enabled inclusion, explained that trans persons were entitled to the benefit of existing social institutions, including State-recognised marriage. This guaranteed their right to a civil union.

Advice - Rights and Laws Jun '19

Winds of change in marriage law?

By Mihika Poddar

Mihika Poddar explains a recent court verdict on the right to marry for trans persons

Tagged Under: Marriage