Good from bad
It's not often that you could even consider that some good might come out of HIV/Aids.
But that's just possible in India.
Despite a long history of homosexuality in the country, it's still a taboo subject.
As is clear in the Manusmriti, an ancient code of conduct for Hindus, homosexuality has long been considered a part of sexual practices, but has not always well accepted.
For instance, if a grown woman was found having a lesbian relationship with another girl, she could be ordered to have her head shaved immediately "or two of her fingers should be cut off, and she should be made to ride on a donkey."
Gay men got off easier. "Causing an injury to a priest, smelling wine or things that are not to be smelled, crookedness, and sexual union with a man" are traditionally said to cause loss of caste.
And "if a man has shed his semen in non-human females, in a man, in a menstruating woman, in something other than a vagina or in water, he should carry out the 'Painful Heating' vow."
This meant drinking a mixture of "cow's urine, cow dung, milk, yogurt, melted butter, water infused with sacrificial grass, and a fast of one night". Tasty.
In the Rig Veda – possibly the world's oldest religious text –sexual acts between women are presented as revelations of a feminine world where sexuality was based on pleasure and fertility. And in the Kama Sutra, homosexuality sex was permitted in some castes but not in others.
Yet despite these differing messages, homosexuality remains illegal – thanks to legislation enacted by British in the days of the Raj.
However, India's National Aids Control Organisation (NACO), the country's main body dealing with the disease, has called for homosexuality to be legalised. A Naco statement said that the law "can adversely contribute to pushing the infection underground and make risky sexual practices go unnoticed and unaddressed."
The organisation went on to explain that more than 8% of gay men in India were infected with HIV, compared to fewer than 1% in the rest of the population.
The Supreme Court has since sent the case back to the Delhi high court. Figures released by the UN in May estimated that around 5.7 million Indians were living with Aids by the end of 2005, more than any other country, including South Africa, which has 5.5m cases.
No major Indian political party has endorsed gay rights and the minor ones have choosen to either ignore the issue or characterise homosexuality as a form of Western 'decadence'.
Decriminalisation would not only bring about liberation, but would also help in tackling HIV/Aids, educationally, in terms of prevention and in terms of early diagnosis.
Hopefully, the Indian courts will see past such historically incorrect posturing to reach the only reasonable, sane and humane conclusion.
But that's just possible in India.
Despite a long history of homosexuality in the country, it's still a taboo subject.
As is clear in the Manusmriti, an ancient code of conduct for Hindus, homosexuality has long been considered a part of sexual practices, but has not always well accepted.
For instance, if a grown woman was found having a lesbian relationship with another girl, she could be ordered to have her head shaved immediately "or two of her fingers should be cut off, and she should be made to ride on a donkey."
Gay men got off easier. "Causing an injury to a priest, smelling wine or things that are not to be smelled, crookedness, and sexual union with a man" are traditionally said to cause loss of caste.
And "if a man has shed his semen in non-human females, in a man, in a menstruating woman, in something other than a vagina or in water, he should carry out the 'Painful Heating' vow."
This meant drinking a mixture of "cow's urine, cow dung, milk, yogurt, melted butter, water infused with sacrificial grass, and a fast of one night". Tasty.
In the Rig Veda – possibly the world's oldest religious text –sexual acts between women are presented as revelations of a feminine world where sexuality was based on pleasure and fertility. And in the Kama Sutra, homosexuality sex was permitted in some castes but not in others.
Yet despite these differing messages, homosexuality remains illegal – thanks to legislation enacted by British in the days of the Raj.
However, India's National Aids Control Organisation (NACO), the country's main body dealing with the disease, has called for homosexuality to be legalised. A Naco statement said that the law "can adversely contribute to pushing the infection underground and make risky sexual practices go unnoticed and unaddressed."
The organisation went on to explain that more than 8% of gay men in India were infected with HIV, compared to fewer than 1% in the rest of the population.
The Supreme Court has since sent the case back to the Delhi high court. Figures released by the UN in May estimated that around 5.7 million Indians were living with Aids by the end of 2005, more than any other country, including South Africa, which has 5.5m cases.
No major Indian political party has endorsed gay rights and the minor ones have choosen to either ignore the issue or characterise homosexuality as a form of Western 'decadence'.
Decriminalisation would not only bring about liberation, but would also help in tackling HIV/Aids, educationally, in terms of prevention and in terms of early diagnosis.
Hopefully, the Indian courts will see past such historically incorrect posturing to reach the only reasonable, sane and humane conclusion.
posted by Amanda Kendal at 10:17 am
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