The Gender Diversity and Discrimination

In 2017, the Supreme court of India gave freedom to its citizens to safely express their sexual orientation. This gave a lot of hope to the LGBT community of India in a legal way. But the social stigma that revolves around the community is yet to be off. The society is yet to accept the community as their own. There are many people who still challenge the notion of LGBT and are quite vocal about it. This has led to the community being side-lined and discriminated in the social, personal as well as in their professional lives.

The LGBT community across the country continues to experience the discrimination on daily basis which has negative impact on various aspects of their lives. The deeply embedded homophobia and transphobia has exposed many such people to the violation of even their basic human rights. They are often discriminated and treated differently in societies, schools and hospitals. They are even sometimes disowned or treated unpleasantly by their own families. There are religions and traditions that consider the LGBT community as criminals and they punish them inhumanly. Many people tend to lose their jobs or promotions, just because they are openly vocal about their sexual orientation. They may even have to face harassment at their workplaces. They are targeted with lewd comments and abuses. This has impacted the mental and physical health of many people. It has also led to people being afraid of coming out and being vocal about their sexual orientation just because they may get affected by the social stigma. They are even subjected to violence and inhuman acts. There are still many countries where LGBT community is considered as criminals legally and are punished for it. The punishment may include arrest, imprisonment and even death penalty in some countries. 

There are various organizations trying to spread awareness regarding the same. Concerns about the basic human rights violation of the LGBT community have been raised in the United Nations since decades. In the words of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon - “Some say that sexual orientation and gender identity are sensitive issues. I understand. Like many of my generation, I did not grow up talking about these issues. But I learned to speak out because lives are at stake, and because it is our duty under the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to protect the rights of everyone, everywhere.”

But, the protection of the LGBT community should depend upon any laws or rights. All people regardless of their sexual orientation should not be victims to any inhumane activities or any social stigma. The society needs to develop itself, evolve with the changing times. It should be understood that everyone belongs to the society. So maybe just try to live and let live.