NGO Women's Network surveys Pune's gay and lesbian population

NGO Women's Network surveys Pune's gay and lesbian population; the detailed booklet will be published in January 2010

NGO Women's Network kick started Pune's first-ever survey of its gay and lesbian population last week. The findings of the project, which is headed by Mangala Samant, a marriage counsellor and researcher, will be published in the form of a booklet in Marathi titled 'Apraadhi Kaun' in January 2010.

Samant, who has earlier researched live-in relationships, said the ongoing debate on Article 377 motivated her to undertake the initiative. The project will incorporate interviews of gay and lesbian couples in Pune by Dr Geetali V R, vice-president of Women's Network and editor of feminist Marathi magazine Miloon Sayajani.
u00a0




Personal choice
"It is wrong to term gay and lesbian sex as unnatural. If a sizable community there are an estimated 100 gay and 50 openly lesbian couples in Pune prefers this kind of sex, how can we label it morbid?" asked Samant, who will also go to the US to tap archives on the subject there.u00a0

Closeted gays and lesbians outnumber their open counterparts, Samant added.u00a0u00a0

"A scientific survey will arm activists fighting for the rights of gays and lesbians with reliable data," she said.u00a0

Bindumadhav Khaire, president, Samapathik Trust, said, "Any new project on gays and lesbians is welcome, as it throws new light on the issue."u00a0

Dr Geetali said life is more difficult for lesbians than it is for gays. "It is extremely difficult for gays to get houses, access health care and obtain insurance, especially when official documents require that one put the name of a man, husband or father on the ration card or passport. Many such couples want to adopt a child, which is legally very difficult," she said.