(On 6 September 2018, the Supreme Court of India read down IPC's Section 377, decriminalising homosexuality. FIT is re-publishing this piece in honor of its one year anniversary.)
It’s a common story unfortunately. In schools, hostels and other academic places. In an incident a colleague narrated to us, at her boarding school, two girls in class 10 were hounded, publicly humiliated and their dorms separated by school authorities because they were attracted to the same sex.
In a landmark case, the Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality in India. It also directed the state to create awareness and sensitise. But it’s also up to parents, friends, relatives, teachers neighbours, colleagues, and not just authorities to echo this judgment in our lives.
Kids, be it tweens or teens, spend half their days in school. A lot of their character, opinions and behaviour can reflect what they see and learn in school. And we need to teach our kids that it’s okay to identify as gay, and support them and give them an environment to come out without fear.