by Jill Patel – Follow @ItsJill_
In a language where the word “love” is depicted in many ways and interpreted in countless Bollywood songs, there still exists an inadequacy in acknowledging the love between people of the same-sex.
No, no. You aren’t gay! It may just be a misunderstanding.”
How can we break down this barrier in order for the South Asian community to recognize the multitude of people who are gay?
It turns out that Free & Equal is the United Nations Human Rights office’s initiative to break that barrier and encourage LGBTQ rights and gender equality, not only in India, but all over the world. Their first step was creating a short music video, “The Welcome,” starring fellow brown girl and supporter of LGBTQ equality, Celina Jaitly. The lyrics of this song inspire the family, more importantly the stereotypical Bollywood dominating matriarch of the family, to welcome the gay couple with joy and recognize the love between the two. The lyrics in Hindi do a wonderful job of portraying the love between people of the same gender.
The song is set to the tune of the oldie “Uthe Sabke Kadam Tara Rum Pum Pum” from the 1979 film “Baaton Baaton Mein.”
Just as the two men join hands and approach their family with confidence that they’ll accept the couple with open arms, The United Nations Human Rights office has confidence that India will adjust their anti-gay laws. India harbors extreme discrimination and violence against LGBTQ people, as it became clear in the recent Supreme Court decision to recriminalize homosexuality in December 2013 and reinstate Section 377.
It has become essential that we decriminalize this love and awareness is all it takes. The sooner India addresses the rights of LGBTQ people and the idea of gender equality, the sooner it will become accepted. Change is approaching for the South Asian community and “The Welcome” is a step in the right direction.
But who is worried about who likes what, as long as in the world of love two people want to be with each other.”
Featured Image Source: UNFE.org
