Meenakshi Sajeesh got into her father's auto rickshaw when she was 20 years old. She was told by her parents to accompany them on a trip. The family arrived at the medical college in Kochi two hours after leaving Angamaly. Sajeesh's stomach dropped. She told her parents a few weeks ago that she was a lesbian and they brought her here to try to cure her.
Sajeesh sent text messages to her friends to let them know where she was. She pressed the "record" button on her phone to make sure she knew what was about to happen. She hid her phone in case they took her away.
Santha Abraham told her mother that she wanted to change her. Abraham insisted that Sajeesh check into the hospital's psychiatric ward for further treatment without divulging any more details about what treatment there would involve.
Sajeesh didn't want to. I didn't want to change because there was nothing wrong with me.
The doctor gave her parents false hope and left her feeling traumatised. She told her parents that she wouldn't go back to that institution. It was a life changing moment when she stood up for herself. She feels like she wouldn't have left that place. Time was asked to use a pseudonym to protectajeesh. Abraham didn't want to comment on the article.
The evidence for a writ of petition filed in October 2020 at the High Court of Kerala by Queerala is based on Sajeesh's experience with Abraham. Sajeesh is listed as a co-petitioner along with a 46-year-old woman who came out to her husband after undergoing counseling to "correct" her sexual orientation.
The petition wants to ban conversion therapy, an umbrella term used for harmful and discredited treatments for changing an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. At least 20 medical practitioners were conducting "conversion therapy" in the state in the year 2019. The petition would require the high court to order the criminalization of those who advocate for conversion therapy. The decision would be appealed to the Supreme Court.
A same-sex couple is fighting for the right to marry. Is their country ready?
Conversion therapy can include counseling, medication, institutionalization, hormone injections, and even hormonal castration. Outside of medical settings, spiritual godmen and guru promote cures through religious rituals, rape, and other forms of physical violence. Many people don't see how such practices are forced upon individuals and can be incredibly harmful. If there was a law against it, we would be able to counter it.
The state government was ordered to form new guidelines by the high court. The guidelines were supposed to be submitted by May of this year, but the consultations only took place in June.
She was optimistic about the outcome of the consultations, but also weary. She says that they were expecting the state of Kerala to act quickly, but the response has been slow.
Sajeesh has a bad relationship with her parents because she refused conversion therapy. She said she would submit her recording to the court as a co-petitioner in order to prevent it from happening to other people. She shrugged and said that it was not a small thing to stop conversion therapy.
One humid afternoon this summer, I met Sajeesh and her partner Sandhya Rajakumar at a public park near the airport. Sajeesh wore a traditional black suit while Rajakumar wore a red plaid shirt. They wore yellow bindis on their foreheads after visiting a Hindu temple. They were able to speak freely about Sajeesh's experience with conversion therapy in a secluded corner. Rajakumar has changed her name to keep her privacy a secret.
The couple first saw each other on a train in July. Sajeesh and Rajakumar work at an architecture firm. We looked at each other a lot. Meenakshi asked me why I was looking at her so much. Rajakumar laughs.
They added each other to Facebook and started talking. They admitted their feelings for each other. At home, where Sajeesh lives with her parents and a younger brother, delayed plans for her marriage left her parents feeling frustrated. She says that their household was turning into a sad place.
Sajeesh told her mom that she liked women. Her mother told her that it was just a phase if she didn't act on her feelings. When Rajakumar came home, that changed. She says that her mother told her that she could change it. Her parents started talking about treatments and cures.
Sajeesh was taken to a counseling session by her parents before she was hospitalized. She heard the term "conversion therapy" there. She didn't know what identifying as LGBTQ meant until she saw videos on TikTok. She was compelled to plan for her safety after seeing her parents' reaction to her coming out. Sajeesh and Rajakumar contacted a queer activist and board member at Queerela to get advice on how to deal with the hostility. She wanted to record any conversations with doctors and make a list of contacts to call in case of an emergency. Sajeesh stood up to the doctor at the hospital, but she still hasn't gotten her parents' approval. Sajeesh's mother believes that she can be converted.
In March 2020 a 21-year-old student named Anjana Harish posted a lengthy video on Facebook in which she described her harrowing experience with forced conversion therapy. Harish had only recently come out to her parents as bisexual before she was bundled into a car by her parents and taken to a de-addiction center for nearly three weeks. Harish ran away from home after she left the center. She said in the video that she was sad because her family had done this to her. She took her own life two months later.
The death of Harish put a spotlight on conversion therapy, which has been under way for years. One such effort brought about a landmark Supreme Court ruling that decriminalized homosexuality in order to discourage conversion therapy. The Indian Psychiatric Society said that any form of treatment or therapy to reverse sexual orientation was based on an "erroneous" and "unscientific" premise.
The Supreme Court ruling does not affect conversion therapy in any way. There are some protective measures against conversion therapy that can be found in the Mental healthcare act. It prohibits discrimination against patients on the basis of their gender and sexual orientation, and requires medical professionals to seekinformed consent before treating patients of the same sex. It's up to the state governments to comply with these directions, and only medical practitioners are covered.
The Prime Minister's Hindu nationalist government has not made any public statements on conversion therapy. The government has a spotty record when it comes to the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer community. Same-sex couples can't get married, they can't get joint loans or life insurance, and they can't adopt. In April, a Member of Parliament from the opposition Congress Party wrote a letter to the Minister of Women and Child Development in the Prime Minister's cabinet, asking for measures to discourage conversion therapy. He did not receive a reply.
The high courts have become more proactive in the absence of India-wide laws. The Madras High Court made Tamil Nadu the first state in India to ban conversion therapy. The parents of a lesbian couple objected to their relationship and filed missing-person reports after the two women left their homes. The couple went to the courts to get protection after being harassed by the police. The government was given guidelines to set up shelter homes and create awareness programs after the court ruled in their favor.
The judge spoke about meeting with the leaders of the gay community to overcome his bias against them. He wrote that he too belonged to the majority of commoners who are yet to comprehend homosexuality completely. The case filed by Queerala and Sajeesh is one of several that are centered around conversion therapy.
India is not the exception when it comes to conversion therapy. Brazil, Taiwan, Argentina, Germany, and New Zealand have all banned conversion therapy. The U.K. has promised to ban the practice, but the government says it won't protect trans people. There is no federal law against conversion therapy in the US.
The United Nations Human Rights Council conducted a survey in July 2020 with over 8,000 people who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer. 32% of respondents said they were aware of conversion therapy happening in the country where they live, and 20% said they or someone they know had been subjected to it
In its 2020 report, the United Nations called for a global ban on conversion therapy to protect children and young people. Victor Madrigal-Borloz is an expert on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Sajeesh and Rajakumar, who are still fighting for their right to be together, feel that LGBTQ rights have only gained small, marginal wins. It will take a long time for them to be more free. They don't want to plan too far in advance. There is a high chance that it won't be possible in this place, so we don't think of big, big things. Rajakumar wants to go somewhere else. People in Germany don't have to hide, according to her cousin.
Sajeesh's father hasn't spoken to her since she was in the hospital. Her mother is still praying for hercure. Sajeesh wants to stay in the country. She squeezed Rajakumar's hand and said she wanted to stay. Show them that I can live my life.
AnnaKattampally reports additional reporting.
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