In a historic verdict in September 2018, the Supreme Court decriminalized Section 377 of the Indian Constitution that deemed consensual intercourse between same-sex adults as an offence. Celebrations erupted across the country as the same-sex community claimed its legal right.

The relief was, however, partial, and the struggle continues as India has still not legalized same-sex marriages, depriving the community of medical and property rights, as well as many other rights that heterosexual couples enjoy.

Delhi-based mental health professionals Kavita Arora and Ankita Khanna have built a life together for the past 8 years. They have involved their families and thrive on the love and support of friends and colleagues. However, the pandemic jolted them into a realization of the uncertainty of life. The importance of legal recognition grew in the light of the pandemic, as did the need for financial security and medical rights.

Prompted by the chaos unleashed by Covid-19, Kavita and Ankita approached the local sub-divisional magistrate for the registration of their relationship. Their request were was turned down as the Special Marriage Act does not cover same-sex marriages. In the following October, they, along with other LGBT+ couples, filed a petition with the Delhi High Court seeking legal sanction for their relationship.

The most recent development was on May 28th, when the Delhi High Court adjourned the plea to July 6th.

“In many ways, I am doing this for my younger self.”

says Kavita Arora, 47.

It was the profession of the two that brought them together. As mental health professionals, they think of many LGBT+ individuals they deal with, and what the petition would mean to them. “When I was 18, I wish I had an ordinary couple to relate to”, Arora says. “Social change takes eons to happen. So what?” says Khanna, 36, “This is not just about us.”

The petition is another milestone in the long struggle for equal rights for the 2.5 million homosexual community in India. The petition has successfully started a conversation that has given the courage to many to come out. It has also received reactions from important political parties, including the Centre’s rejection of same-sex marriages on the grounds of Indian value system.

The struggle is a long and draining one. But these two are optimistic. “We are not seeing this as an event but as a movement,” says Arora. “And movements can’t be quantified by time.”