The silence in the cramped cafe in the heart of the capital was deafening. For over 50 young men and women, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, beaming down a large TV screen, was the inspiration with her “It Gets Better” message for the LGBT community as part of a campaign to express solidarity with the cause.
“I have a message for all the young people out there who are being bullied or who feel alone. And find it hard to imagine a better future. First of all, hang in there. And ask for help, your life is important to family, friends. And to your country.” “There is so much waiting for personally and professionally. Here at the state department. You are not alone, many people are standing with you. Count me among them,” Clinton said.
It was an excerpt from her YouTube post for the “It Gets Better” campaign. “The support from Clinton is overwhelming. It has to get better for us; we cannot always be edged to the margin,” Sobha Mahapatra, a journalist and a member of the capital’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community, told IANS. Members of the capital’s alternative sexual groups had on Thursday gathered at the Kunzum Travel Cafe — the capital’s lone travel cafe and travel art gallery — at a session, “Charcha, Chai Aur Coffee”, to commemorate the second anniversary of the Delhi high court's historic judgment decriminalising homosexuality.
The interface, sponsored by the American Center, sought to link the capital’s LGBT groups with the global “It Gets Better” campaign that began in US in September 2010 after a spate of teen suicides.
“You can put your “It gets Better” videos on YouTube to talk about your experience, share opinions and build awareness,” a spokesperson for the American Center said. According to writer, photographer and traveller Ajay Jain, who owns the Kunzum Cafe in Hauz Khas village, “same sex couples have powerful life stories to narrate”. “I was approached by the American Center to let out the space. And I wanted to express solidarity with the campaign,” Jain said. “Over the years, I have noticed that members of the LGBT groups make better travellers and take off frequently because they need to be in their own space, which is often not possible at home or at work places,” Jain added.
The life stories sparked debates. “It is difficult for men and women from the lower economic groups to come out of the closet and declare their sexual preferences,” said a Delhi-based filmmaker of the LGBT community (requesting anonymity). “I have worked with Milan which provides support network to gay men. Most of the men refuse to be identified and often feel isolated. They need a platform to network and campaign for their rights,” she said. Winner of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation Award in 2006 and 2007, the Milan Project is Naz Foundation's pilot project which helps the MSM (men having sex with men) and the transgender groups. According to Ruksana Ahmed, who came to the forum with her girlfriend, “the biggest problem in rural areas is that there is no discussion”. “Even uttering the word homosexual or lesbian is taboo in small towns of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. It often leads to social ostracisation,” she said. A member of the LGBT community of expatriates agreed. “Even in Britain's rural areas, the coming out process is difficult.
Articulating about sexuality, asserting identity and family pressures are the constraints in a conservative social milieu,” said Philly, who has been working in India for a year. Aaron, a gay US national, who has been in India for two years, said that “while extended families and rigid filial structures determine the freedom of LGBT groups in India, in US, the Bible is the biggest roadblock”.
“The debate about LGBT communities in US is centred around Christianity; whereas in India, parents force them to marry and procreate. Gay marriages became a legal reality in New York last week, but I don't see it happening so easily in India,” Aaron told IANS. One of ways to overcome the social barriers is to become part of an international network, he said. In September 2010, American columnist and writer Dan Savage created a YouTube video with his partner Terry to inspire hope among young people. It was in response to a number of students taking their own lives after being bullied in school. Two months later, “It Gets Better Project” has turned into a worldwide movement, inspiring over 10,000 user-created videos viewed over 35 million times with patrons like President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.