Advocate for Marriage Equality in India: Lesbian Activist Fights for Same-Sex Rights

India's Supreme Court is set to make a landmark decision on legalizing same-sex marriages, and LGBTQ+ activist Maya Sharma is anxiously awaiting the verdict. Sharma, 73, who lives with her female partner in Vadodara, is one of the 21 petitioners, including same-sex couples, trans individuals, and organizations, seeking marriage equality. She also wants LGBTQ+ individuals to have the right to choose their families outside of marriage. Sharma does not desire marriage herself and prefers to call her relationship a "partnership," as she dislikes the traditional concept of marriage. However, she believes that the verdict could bring attention to the violence experienced by LGBTQ+ couples and provide them with the opportunity to form families on their own terms. Sharma discovered her attraction to women when she was in school but struggled to accept her lesbian identity due to societal homophobia. In the 1960s, while working for a women's rights collective, she met women trapped in abusive marriages or in love with other women, which spurred her to confront her own desires. Despite ongoing discrimination, Sharma found inspiration in the 1991 report, "Less Than Gay," which demanded the decriminalization of gay sex, marriage equality, and rights for trans individuals. This report gave her the courage to end her heterosexual marriage. Over the years, court battles have played a crucial role in advancing LGBTQ+ rights in India, and Sharma believes that the progress made through these legal battles is equally important as the final outcomes. She cites the Supreme Court's decriminalization of gay sex in 2018 and the recognition of transgender individuals as a third gender in 2014 as significant steps forward. While Sharma hopes for the legalization of same-sex marriage, she acknowledges that societal change and acceptance will require ongoing effort from the LGBTQ+ movement.