Muslim LGBT Challenges in India: An Existential Crisis with Dual Subordination

By Grace Mubashir, New Age Islam 16 December 2024 The Experiences Of Muslim LGBT Individuals In India Reveal The Deeply Ingrained Nature Of Dual Subordination, As Both Religious And Secular Systems Perpetuate Their Marginalization. Major Points: 1. Dual subordination thus brings to light a notion of stratified oppression that Muslim LGBT persons encounter while moving through religious and secular systems of power. 2. Pervasive stigma also occurs both on religious and secular levels as the LGBT Muslim community continues to be confronted with this in India. 3. For the Muslim LGBT, this journey speaks to a struggle for inclusion and, more broadly, one for dignity and equality within a system of oppression. ----- Muslim members of the LGBT community in India are at the intersection of religious, cultural, and legal subordination. Their struggles are systemic because they are deeply rooted in patriarchal norms that are embedded both in Islamic religious law and in the secular legal framework of the Indian state. Dual subordination, therefore, reinforces their marginalization, and the realization of sexual and human rights is hard to attain. This essay explores historical, legal, and cultural experiences in the Indian Muslim LGBT. It discusses the games or relations between religion, law, and social stigma and how it keeps the subject person relegated to the margin side as he researches channels to act or bring reforms into that circle of society. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also Read: Why Accommodating Gay Rights within Islam is a Challenge? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Understanding Dual Subordination Dual subordination thus brings to light a notion of stratified oppression that Muslim LGBT persons encounter while moving through religious and secular systems of power. Within the Islamic context, religious norms often privilege heteronormativity and patriarchal control over personal autonomy. At the same time, an ostensibly secular Indian state applies laws that criminalize homosexuality, such as Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which was repealed only partially in 2018. The result is an overlapping matrix of oppression that denies Muslim LGBT individuals avenues for recognition and protection. Muslim women have little option but to turn back towards the patriarchal manipulations of the state, whose secular judicial systems minimized their claims and advocated the same hierarchical structures. Similarly, Muslim LGBTs suffer exclusion at the hands of their religious communities and are criminalized by the secular state for their sexual orientations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also Read: ‘Gay Rights’ Versus The ‘Human Rights Of Gays’ – A Fresh Insight Into The Broader Message Of The Qur’an ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Legal frameworks have been applied throughout history. The historical development of Islamic law in India can therefore be characterized by the complexity of its relationship with colonial and post-colonial state-building. While introduced to the Indian subcontinent under the Sultanate, Islamic law was codified as "Anglo-Mohammedan law" under the British during colonial rule. Thus, the legal system under this jurisdiction was a mixture of Islamic principles and British jurisprudence with the design for centralization of control with religious autonomy intact. The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937 further codified this system, assigning Muslim communities the jurisdiction over matters of marriage, inheritance, or divorce. These laws generally reinforced patriarchal norms vis-à-vis women's rights and restricted the scope in favour of broader social sexual autonomy. The colonial residue continues to haunt modern-day India as personal laws impinge upon constitutional protections for equality and non-discrimination. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also Read: The Holy Quran: Why Were The Verses On The People Of Lut Revealed? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Intersection Of Law, Religion, And Sexuality The legal battles surrounding gender and sexuality for Muslims in India tend to take place in these contested spaces around religious authority and secular institutions. A good example of this tension was in the landmark case, Shah Bano's 1985 case. Shah Bano was a Muslim woman who sought maintenance against her husband under secular law, and the Supreme Court in deciding for her, relied upon constitutional guarantees of equality. However, this was countered with a sharp reaction from the conservative Muslim leaders who managed to get the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, passed thereby nullifying the judgment and reaffirming religious control over such matters. Similar dynamics can be seen among LGBT Muslims. Secular law has traditionally criminalized homosexuality under Section 377, whereas religious discourse has always provided stigma towards non-heteronormative identities. These two constrictions place LGBT Muslims in invisibility due to neither system providing an actionable framework to recognize or protect them. Religious leaders and their institutions similarly use these legal frameworks to legitimate exclusion and persecution of LGBT persons, which is used as a means of sustaining stigma about their identities. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also Read: To Sustain an LGBTQ Affirming Islamic Discourse, Lateral Violence Must End ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Challenges In The Lives Of LGBT Muslims Pervasive stigma also occurs both on religious and secular levels as the LGBT Muslim community continues to be confronted with this in India. Islamic teachings, therefore, are mostly interpreted by conservative scholars who condemn homosexuality as unnatural or sinful. This is theologically condemned and, as a result, culturally practised through ostracizing non-heteronormative persons further entrenching them in communities. This marginalization has been compounded by the role of the state throughout history. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalized "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" till 2018, and these were disproportionately gay men, transgender individuals, and others on the LGBT spectrum. The law legitimized harassment, violence, and extortion by law enforcement, particularly against those from marginalized communities, including Muslims. Social and cultural stigmas remain deeply entrenched despite the Supreme Court's decriminalization of consensual same-sex relationships. More so, LGBT Muslims have particular issues relating to self-reconciliation of sexual identity and religious beliefs. Some suffer silently, carrying with them loads of internalized guilt and self-hatred while others are shunned off from their families or coerced into undergoing conversion therapy which is psychological and corporal abuse. Their examples therefore illustrate how oppression relates to religion, gender and sexuality. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also Read: Why Gay Muslims Are Upheld To Standards That Not Even Prophets Fulfil? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hindu Nationalist Rhetoric And Its Impacts But if things worsen, it is partly due to how Hindu nationalism has emerged as the dominant force in India. Its discourse often positions Muslims as "others," defining them as being less culturally and morally worthy than Hindus. Women's bodies are used as weapons in battles over gender and sexuality that enable dominance over the Muslim other. Such incidents, including the 2002 pogrom of Gujarat, signify the methodical use of gender and sexuality to implement systemic violence in a society. Muslim women were raped as a way of humiliation and control, while LGBT Muslims are often excluded from community narratives of victimhood because of their perceived deviance. The criminalization of sexuality by Hindu nationalist groups, associating homosexuality with moral corruption and connecting it to Muslim culture, further marginalizes LGBT Muslims within the broader national context. Global And Local Activism For Sexual Rights This, despite the challenges, movements to sexuality, women's rights, and gay movements within India have emerged. With international instruments such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women or (CEDAW) and principles on sexual orientation and gender identity, Yogyakarta Principles, a basic framework for advocacy of changes has been provided. And these instruments are on basic tenets of bodily autonomy, equality, and security from violence. At the national level, it is organizations like Naz Foundation and queer Muslim collectives that have toiled hard to challenge both legal and societal barriers. It is also a partial repeal of Section 377. A very crucial step forward for the rights of the LGBT, yet, not enough in tackling broader discrimination against sexual minorities from marginalized communities like Muslims. Activism by Muslim feminists and LGBT Muslims contests patriarchal interpretations of religious texts to open up spaces for more inclusive discourses on sexuality and identity. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also Read: The Quran on Homosexual Relations ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Opportunities for Reform The way forward towards increasing the protection and recognition of Muslim LGBT Indians will be an integrated effort. It calls for legal reform - scrapping colonial remnants like Section 377 and ensuring protection from sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination. Simultaneously, personal laws under Islam will need reform; with an emphasis on gender and sexual equality and challenges against patriarchal interpretations undermining personal choice. An issue such as education and awareness campaigns are in addressing the societal stigma imposed, together. Engaging religious leaders about inclusivity and re-articulating Islamic teachings is found to bring greater acceptance through involving Muslim communities. Building alliances between feminist, LGBT rights, and minority rights campaigns can help amplify advocacy efforts and break the interconnected networks of oppression. Conclusion The experiences of Muslim LGBT individuals in India reveal the deeply ingrained nature of dual subordination, as both religious and secular systems perpetuate their marginalization. While historical and legal structures have reinforced these hierarchies, growing activism and international human rights norms provide opportunities for resistance and reform. India can work towards creating an inclusive society that recognizes and respects the rights and identities of its citizenry by working on religion-law-sexuality intersections. For the Muslim LGBT, this journey speaks to a struggle for inclusion and, more broadly, one for dignity and equality within a system of oppression. ----- A regular columnist for NewAgeIslam.com, Mubashir V.P is a PhD scholar in Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia and freelance journalist. 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