Imagine not falling under the gender norms and sexual orientation set by society. You feels different; rather than identifying yourself with the sex assigned at birth as a male or a female, you feel like you are too feminine to hang out with the boys and too masculine to hang out with the girls. Now Imagine, you don’t feel attracted towards the opposite gender, instead your heart is being flattered by the person who has the same sex as yours or you feel attracted towards both genders. What would you realize about yourself? You may feel surprised at first. You might even get scared thinking what you have “become”, scared of how you will face everyone in the society. Even after that, you decided to tell the ones you care the most, hoping they will accept you. In some cases, parents will accept you but in most cases where your parents do not wish to step out of their “comfort zone”, will force you into a very inhumane practice called Conversion Therapy.
LGBTQ+ youths these days are forced into this pseudoscientific practice which is claimed to change one’s sexual orientation, and gender identity, even though there is no scientific evidence of it. Such practice has already have been rejected by every mainstream medical and mental health organizations around the world. Despite continuous efforts to defend the rights of LGBTQ+ peoples, discrimination against the LGBTQ+ peoples continues, with the latest one being in the Uganda where the President has signed one of the toughest anti-LGBTQ laws that includes “death penalty”.
It would be wrong if I use the word “therapy” for it, when it is nothing more than torture. It is a “conversion torture”, which has no limits. This inhumane act includes methods like electroshock therapy (where electrodes are attached to the head and electric current is passed), aversive treatment such as hypnosis and electric shock to the hands or genitals. Those practising this therapy do not stop here. They commit so many rights violations. They beat them with the broom while speaking some holy verses or sometimes even burn the individual’s head, back and palm. They go so far that they forces the individual to be nude in presence of the others. Some even sent them into solitary confinements, cutting them from the outside world for a long period of time. The list of the inhumane acts does not end here. The individual in the conversion therapy face verbal abuse and form of violence such as beatings and rape. Those practicing medicine even makes them go through a brain surgery, giving them medications such as hormone injections, anti-depressants in heavy dose. Conversion Therapy cause long-term psychological harm that includes the higher rate of depression. The thought of committing suicide also rises in those who have undergone this therapy.
Now, I want to tell you the true story of Anjana Hareesh. She was a 21 years old student at the Brennen College of Thalassery. One day in hope of acceptance from her family, she decided to come out like any other LGBTQ youth but she forgot one thing how dangerous it would be for her. But still, after collecting all her courage, she came out as bisexual to her family. She was not accepted by her family and they thought it is some kind of illness. So they forced her into a conversion therapy. With the help of her supportive friends, she ran away from her home to a hostel in Goa. She and her friends who helped her run away from the home were all receiving threats from her family did not stopped. She was found dead in Goa on May 12, 2020. The exact reason behind her death is unknown but it is alleged that she committed suicide because she was forced into Conversion Therapy.
In her last post on Facebook on March 13, 2020, she claimed that she was forced into conversion therapy and was put under heavy medication. She was slapped when she tried to explain there’s nothing wrong with her. As I earlier told you that the conversion therapy leads to mental health illness which also includes suicidal thoughts.
No one should go through such torture just because who they are. Many youths who are not accepted by their family either runs away from their home or end up committing suicide after being forced into this “conversion torture”. Nine years have passed since the historical NALSA judgment by the Supreme Court has been passed, which recognized Trans peoples as the third gender and four years, has been passed since Section-377 of IPC which criminalizes the same-sex relationship, was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Our nation has come this far in rights of LGBTQ community, all thanks to the Supreme Court. It is the reason why peoples still believe in justice; Even after all that this inhumane act of the conversion therapy continues to be practiced.
In September 2022, the National Medical Commission said that the conversion therapy will be counted as the “professional misconduct” and wrote to all the State Medical Councils to take disciplinary action against those who undertake conversion therapy. It means still there is a chance that the practice will continue to exist in India until there is a nationwide ban under a law made by the parliament because the ban is on the medical professionals and not any individual who is earning money somewhere, claiming he/she could cure this illness. There is one more question that arises here. Whether the government of India is ready to impose a ban? Are those in power ready to talk about conversion therapy, when they are the one who stood up against the legalization of same-sex marriage in India? How can a government whose principle is “Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Viswas” could ignore the voices of the LGBTQ community, which is such a big part of its population? As I’m writing this piece, my anger is increasing. Those unheard voices need to be heard. The government must step up to defend the rights and make this nation a safer place for the LGBTQ community.
In the end I want to send this message to anyone who is still in the closet that it’s okay to be who you are. You are not alone. If those who you love does not accept you, then there is me and so many others out there who will love you, they will try to become your friends because they knows there is nothing wrong with that.