Follow up: A “Sensible” Religious Response to LGBT Sikhs
Earlier this week I blogged about how Queer/LGBT Sikhs have been (shamefully) excluded from the Sikh community by religious leaders. Today, I was sent the following blog post and BBC article about “marriages of convenience” for queer desis who feel they cannot come out, by virtue of their religious or ethnic identities (thanks, Jodha!). Balbir Singh, a leader in the Southall community comments:
“The whole family suffers. We are living in 2008 and it’s time they should come out to the parents… I’ve even heard that parents have died because of the shock of finding out about these pretend marriages. But for Asian gays and lesbians, the situation is very difficult.”
His comments are furthered by two queer, desi Muslims in the UK [ed. note: in the U.K. "Asian" typically refers to desi], Fazal Mahmood and Rubina:
“The situation is so serious - we’ve heard about gays and lesbians being attacked because of their sexuality. We’ve even had cases where people have tried to commit suicide because Asian society will not accept or tolerate homosexuals.”
“I wish that people would understand sexuality is only one part of a person and my message to parents is that being gay or lesbian does not change your child… We’re living in a modern day society and it’s wrong that this persecution carries on. It’s unacceptable.”
The U.K., which tends to fall ahead of the curve, shows us that there is an urgent need to create queer-friendly spaces and understanding within the Sikh community. While Balbir Singh does not endorse LGBT marriages, he speaks against encouraging LGBT Sikhs to stay closeted. Perhaps a sensible first step is encouraging acceptance and love.
2 Responses to “Follow up: A “Sensible” Religious Response to LGBT Sikhs”
By Gurminder on Feb 9, 2008 at 5:23 pm | Quote
Heres an interesting first-hand account of one particular Punjabi relationship of convenience: Link