"Hope To See Legal Stamp On Rainbow Marriages" Parents Write To CJI Amid Marriage Equality Hearing

Hundreds of parents of LGBTQIA+ children wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI), DY Chandrachud. The parents have demanded equality for their children and people of the LGBTQIA+ community. The letter was written by 400 plus parents who belong to Sweekar—the Rainbow Parents Group while the Supreme Court is hearing petitions asking for same-sex marriages to be legalised in the country.

The five-judge panel, headed by the CJI, is hearing pleas seeking the recognition of same-sex marriages under the 1954 Special Marriage Act.

Rainbow Parents Letter To CJI

The parents wrote about how they have gone through lots of emotions, from knowing about gender and sexuality to understanding the lives of their children to finally accepting the sexuality of their loved ones. They explained that it took education, debate, and patience to understand the lives of LGBTQIA+ children, their feelings, and their desires. Similarly, they hoped that people who oppose same-sex marriages would also come around.

They also highlighted the Supreme Court decriminalising same-sex relationships in 2018 and gradually opening up to the idea of queer lives. "We desire to see our children and children-in-law find final legal acceptance for their relationship under the Special Marriage Act in our country. We are certain that a nation as big as ours, which respects its diversity and stands for the value of exclusion, will open its legal gate of marriage equality to our children too," read the letter.

They ended the letter by stating, "We are growing old. Some of us will touch 80 soon, and we hope that we will get to see the legal stamp on the rainbow marriage of our children in our lifetime."

The parents also empathised with those who were arguing against the pleas, as they themselves were at that point in the past. They had to unlearn and relearn in order to understand the lives and choices of their children and accept them with an open mind. The rainbow parents mentioned that they have faith in the constitution and democracy of the country and hope the Indian marriage laws will become more inclusive.

Read the letter here:

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