Word: gayness
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...responded to the values and mores of the time in the Indian society." Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahli, a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said today's ruling was "against all religions. It is against the culture of Indian society." (See pictures of the gay-rights movement...
...That sends a strong signal to Indian gay rights activists, who cheered not just the decision but the principle affirming homosexuals as part of Indian society. "It's the first judgment of its kind," says Siddharth Narrain, an attorney with the Alternative Law Forum in Bangalore. "It looks at the concept of inclusiveness, not just life and liberty." (Read: "The Battle Over Gay Marriage...
...Nepal has already overturned the law, but as the largest country in South Asia, India's repeal effort has been watched especially closely. "We have had a very progressive leadership, and I sincerely hope that the Indian decision will help us in the right direction," says Sahran Abeysundera, a gay rights activist in Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital. As in India, Sri Lanka's law on homosexuality, known there as Section 365, has hindered HIV prevention programs among male sex workers. "We stand to gain more by repealing these laws than keeping them in the law books...
...Shakhawat Hossain, moderator of Boys of Bangladesh, an online community that helps and supports gay Bangladeshis, says that India, because of its cultural and historic ties to Bangladesh, can influence the direction of the gay rights movement there. "This ruling certainly would boost up the work that is going on in here," Hossain says. "Most importantly it will pave the way for a discussion in the wider society and media here in Bangladesh." (See a video on gay marriage...
...case overturning India's Section 377 took years; activists elsewhere realize they have a long road ahead. "There will not be any immediate change here because of the Indian decision," Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, executive director of Equal Ground, a gay rights group in Sri Lanka. "Things don't work like that, we have to keep working and advocating constantly." The Indian High Court has given them one more rallying cry. - With reporting by Amantha Perera / Colombo and Delwar Hussain / Dhaka...