Volume 2
Issue 4 The
Human Rights Magazine
October-November 2003
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Gender in the Construction of Nations
Women are central to the project of nation-making, yet they are denied a voice in it. Because women are imagined only as sexual beings, or indeed as sexual property of men, they can never be conceived of as complete citizens. What then, about those who fall outside of this frame of the hetrosexual family?
Section
377 : Weapon of PersecutionThe Universality of certain rights, no matter how repugnant one finds the individuals enjoying the same, is at the basis of the human rights discourse, and also forms the bedrock of democracy. However, for many in power, democracy has become a means of using the tyranny of the majority to continue with their privileges. Sexually variant people who express their sexual affections differently from the perceived norm are soft targets in this scheme of things.
Extracts from the Government of India’s objection to the petition filed by Naz Foundation challenging Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.
Law
and Discrimination Against Homosexuals
Rights of homosexuals have three components: Right of having homosexuality
decriminalized; Right not to be discriminated in matters of employment,
education, social security and other benefits; Right to a legal recognition
of homosexuals relations through marriage or partnership contracts.
Human
Rights and Sexual Orientation
During the past decade, in particular, LGBT activists have made remarkable
progress in grounding sexuality and gender identity as legitimate human
rights issues in international fora. This article examines some of the
key international human rights precedents within the United Nations system
related to sexual orientation and gender identity, with particular emphasis
on those with direct relevance to the situation of LGBT, hijra, and other
sexuality minority peoples and communities in India.
Indian
LGBT in the time of Cholera
In India there is a large trend in academia, activism and intellectual-political
work as a whole in this country towards funded research, funded politics
and funded movements. The need is integration of intellectual and activist
LGBT work in India with the social struggles of the country rather than
funded projects designed in the US.
From
Bits to Qbits
The first step in engaging with any queer groups
and politics has been acknowledging that lesbian and bisexual women’s
issues are as valid women’s issues as any other. The intersection
of feminist and queer politics will lead to newer understandings.
Voicing
the Invisible: Violence Against Lesbians in India
Lesbians are vulnerable to the violence faced
by all women – rape, battering, sexual harassment and child abuse.
A study on the nature of violence faced by lesbian women in India - conducted
by Research centre on Violence Against Women, Tata Institute of Social
Sciences, Mumbai.
The
Human Rights of an Unpeople
The hijras as a community represent an existing Indian tradition which
clearly contests hetero-normativity. An overview of the laws, conditions
and attitudes that deny hijras any political, civil or social rights.
Complicating
Gender: Rights of Transsexuals in India
Examining the perspectives and priorities in
the struggle for rights of transsexuals in the East and West.
Sunila
Abeysekara spoke to Shalini Mahajan
about the rights of margina-lised sexualities and genders in Sri Lanka.
Nighat
Said Khan Executive Director of
ASR, a resource centre in Lahore spoke to Shalini Mahajan about the rights
of marginalised sexualities and genders in Pakistan.
Editorial
By
The Guest Editor
Letter
To The Editor
Review
Breaking
Gender Stereotypes
Manjuben Truck Driver – Review of a documentary that refuses to
slot its subject into acceptable categories.
LGBT
Publications Publications have made
visible the social realities of LGBT peoples and communities by reflecting
diverse voices.
Funda
of Fundamental Rights K M Gopakumar
reviews Justice Suresh's work Fundamental Rights as Human Rights.
HIV – A Lens On Sexuality
In this article, the author argues that the advent of HIV made it possible to talk of sexuality in the context of health and development and these discussions have effectively made their way into human rights.
Acknowledging our Desires
Gay and lesbian communities and families, along with other marginalised communities, have long fought for the right to be different – to want different things, to articulate a different desire, and to break free from sexist and patriarchal ideals of enforced monogamy, inevitable and eternally desirable marriage, and “normal” families. Has that now changed?
Other issues:
Women
Begging
the Question
For destitute women, forced to beg for survival, the provisions of the
Bombay Prevention of Begging Act only result in further violation of human
rights.
Also
Warriors In The Struggle
The continuing ethnic conflict and militant movements
in Sri Lanka have impacted women in complex ways.
AIDS
Looking
For A Positive Treatment
India has the second highest number of HIV/AIDS infected patients among
all nations, second only to South Africa. A public interest petition in
the Supreme Court seeks treatment for AIDS patients in public hospitals.
Adivasis
Jharkhand
– A free for All
The police and administration are provoking unemployed
youth to kill so-called Naxalites, through the Nagrik Suraksha Manch.
Tragically enough, this killing spree has been named ‘sendra’
which in tribal tradition signifies the village hunt of wild animals.
Kashmir
New
Government, Old Ways
The PDP-Congress administra-tion's respect
for lawful governa-nce and rule of law is no better than the previous
government's in Kashmir.
Environment
Towards
Societal Ownership of Environment
Green taxes can be an effective way to control
pollution and steer economies toward better environmental protection.
Legal Challenges in Shipbreaking in India
A close look at the Alang shipbreaking yard
case.
Judiciary & Polity
Secularism
and Judicial Interpretation
The judiciary in independent India has played
a significant political role. Any interrogation of the application of
secularism in Indian polity must examine its role in upholding this Constitutional
mandate.
A
Matter of Right(s)
The ‘dispute’ between civil and political
rights on one side and economic, social and cultural rights is an overdrawn
one. The principle of the indivisibility of human rights indicates that
ESC rights must be given the same weight as CP rights.