By Udayan
Let me not mince words here- homophobia exists and it totally sucks. Worse, when you’re at the receiving end of it. Let me relate to you the stories of a couple of bright and talented young men- gay men- who’s worlds have come crashing down in a matter of days owing to just one fact- their alternative sexual orientation.
Pradeep, a student in one of Bangalore’s most well known Universities, is very upset. When he narrated his tale, I could understand why. Pradeep is openly gay. He’d nominated himself for the role of a “peer educator” a University initiative under which students are encouraged to educate their peers on a range of issues. When he was interviewed for this role Pradeep talked about his work in the field of gender and alternative sexuality issues. Soon he got a call from the University Authorities saying he can not be a part of this program. The reason? Pradeep narrates the shameful dialog that followed, “First they talked crap about me being over-qualified for the job. When I refused to buy that, they blurted out the truth on my face- they can not have an openly gay student talking to everyone about queer issues. When I retorted that it’s discrimination, they told me it’s none of their business who I go to bed with. I should not just discuss these issues openly.” Do I have words to describe the obnoxiousness and insensitivity of their statements? No, I fail to!
Let us move further down south- Chennai. Vijay worked in one of India’s biggest IT companies. He also is a gay activist. He attended and spoke at a LGBT event in the city about workplace issues he faces as an openly gay employee. He was promptly fired from the company. The reason? He spoke to the media without the company’s permission. We’re supposed to ignore the fact that he did not even name the company in his interview. The Human resources department obviously doesn’t give a thought to why he had to speak out in the first place.
Both Pradeep and Vijay are scared to speak up openly. They fear further retribution from authorities and a possibility of not finding jobs elsewhere. They live in the world’s largest democracy. But freedom is still a daily struggle- for them – and for the thousands of other Pradeeps and Vijays around this country.
Please take at look at this link and comment further.
http://business.in.com/article/real-issue/over-the-rainbow-how-inclusive-are-our-work-places/26252/1
Huh.. Indians have a lot to learn. I have suffered completely disgusting and offensive reactions from my boss when I complained about sexual harrasment and I am female and st8.. Indians are really really bad. bad.
Please tell us the names of the university and the company. The rest of us (both homosexual and heterosexual) should recognise these as places of discrimination. What’s the point of a sad story if nothing can be done about it?
Udita, I can not reveal the names to protect the privacy of the individuals involved. The point of the article is to ensure that we as a community recognize that incidents like these are not uncommon and take steps to ensure that they do not happen again.
PS, Yes I’ve read that article, it’s encouraging to see foreign MNCs initiating LGBT inclusion in Indian offices. it’s time for Indian MNCs to take cue from it.