Lesbians, gays, bisexuals now wait for their turn

Hyderabad: The SC verdict, however, does not cover members of other sexual orientations including lesbians, gays and bisexuals.

With elections just a week away, the LGBT community has been stressing on the need for political parties to address their issues.

A community member called Puppy said, “India is lagging behind when it comes to legalising Section 377. Many countries have already decriminalised the Section.”

Sadhak Navdeep from the LGB community said, “With the bifurcation of the state, it is also essential to form two states with a liberal mindset, where sexuality is not criminalised. The law must be repealed for equality. When transgenders are getting their due, the government should also go ahead with this Section,” he said.

A campaign is currently on across 17 different cities till the start of elections to ensure the community’s demands are considered.

More than 150 LGB community leaders from across Andhra Pradesh are participating in this campaign.

Vijay R. Nair, programme manager, India HIV/AIDS Alliance, Pehchan said, “The Supreme Court declared the transgender as the third gender in India and proclaimed that they should have all the rights irrespective of class, caste, creed and religion. It has created a history, but this will be complete only when Section 377 is also decriminalised.”