Gay judge to serve on India's top court

This is a small break that could have a big impact. Saurabh Kirpal, who has long come out as gay, has now been proposed as a judge by the Supreme Court in India. If everything goes smoothly, he could work at the supreme court in the future.

The documents are already with the responsible Ministry of Justice. Whether Kirpal will actually get the appointment, however, remains to be seen. But the very fact that he has been appointed (repeatedly, by the way) is something special. So far, no member of the queer community has been granted this honor. An important statement - also in international terms. And the chances seem to be particularly good this time.

A gay judge in India

Who is Saurabh Kirpal?

Saurabh Kirpal decided comparatively early to start a career as a lawyer. Among other things, he worked as a junior lawyer and then became asenior lawyer. Furthermore, he made "stopovers" at Oxford and Cambridge in the course of his career.

"On the side" he is also gay and strongly committed to the rights of the community. Anyone who takes a look at his curriculum vitae quickly notices that, for example, it was apparently a particular concern of his to campaign for homosexuality to be decriminalized in his home country, India.

What impact might an appointment have on the community?

Fancy a look into the famous crystal ball? Assuming that Saurabh Kirpal would work at the Supreme Court in the future, this would represent much more than "just" a message. The direct impact of his appointment should also not be underestimated in this context. After all, it would certainly be easier for him to stand up for the rights of queers even more in the future. People's attention would then be even more focused on him - if only because of his high position.

Certainly, this would be a great way to further increase the visibility of the community.

What is the situation like for queers in India?

For a long time, queers in India did not have it easy. As already indicated, homosexuals, for example, were considered criminals (until 2018!).

This is mainly due to the history of the country. After all, India was under British rule for a long time. At that time, many of the colonial rulers were characterized by an attitude to life that today would be described as "clearly homophobic. The image of the "criminal homosexual" is therefore many years old, dating back to the 19th century. At that time, same-sex love was considered "not natural" and accordingly "wrong" in the country.

Even after the colonial period, the laws remained the same. In the end, it is thanks to people like Saurabh Kirpal, who did not let themselves be discouraged and consistently fought for the rights of the community, that queers in India are better off today.

The situation is particularly encouraging in the major Indian cities. Here, queers often have the opportunity to live out their sexual orientation more freely than, for example, in the villages. Nevertheless, not least because of what happened in the past and because of the fact that there are still many people in India today who make homosexuality a taboo, many of those affected are afraid to openly show their love for their partner. Probably more time has to pass until the law, which was abolished in 2018, no longer exists in people's minds either.

 

By the way, Kal Penn has also come out of the closet

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