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Journalism of Courage
THEY are not Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar from Brokeback Mountain. But the case of Rekha and Sonu from Halol in Gujarat8217;s tribal outback makes for an equally arresting tale of unusual friendship and misunderstood sexuality. The two are on the run even after a fast track court allowed them their constitutional choice to live together.
Sonu8217;s brother continues to be in jail, the young lawyer who pleaded Sonu8217;s case gets threat calls, the conservative Marwari community is hounding the girls and the town quietly gossips about the closet lesbian couples in their neighbourhood.
The girls were brought back to Gujarat but the court case that followed collapsed equally dramatically. To the surprise of the Marwari community and the local press, Sonu could conclusively ascertain her femininity after a medical examination by a government doctor and Rekha turned down the choice to live with her family or in a women8217;s protection home.
The girls made a categorical public assertion before district authorities that that they were not lesbians but just friends who wanted to live together. After a mild lathi-charge to contain a restive crowd outside the court, the police escorted the girls out of town. And now no one knows where they are.
DHAVAL Patel, who represented Sonu, is a young lawyer who began his practice barely two years ago. He continues to get threat calls even a week after the girls made good their escape. 8216;8216;The case was weak. Both are adults, I just wanted to prove that I could make a good argument. But I have yet to receive the fees,8217;8217; he says.
Maya Sharma of Parma8212;the lone support group working for alternate sexuality in Gujarat8212;remains disturbed by society8217;s rejection of a friendship that may not be so common. 8216;8216;They had to say publicly that they are not lesbians. Being gay is now acceptable, but women asserting their sexual choice is unacceptable. A man is respected for becoming a brahmachari, a woman for becoming a nun. But what if two women want to stay together just as friends?8217;8217; she questions.
Parma had provided support to Sonu8217;s parents who left the town after being hounded by the media and locals. 8216;8216;What can we do if our daughter is like this, everyone is spreading tale about Sonu8217;s character. Her only problem is that she does not like men and does not look like a woman,8217;8217; says a sobbing Surinder Kaur, Sonu8217;s mother.
Father Avtar Singh, a security guard, wishes he had money to fund the sex change operation his daughter so desired. 8216;8216;Kya karein, hamari bacchi hai8230;agar uparwale ne use aisa banaya hai to kya kare, koi gunaah to nahin8217;8217; what can we do, she8217;s our daughter8230;what can we do if god made her like this. It8217;s not a crime8217;8217; is their refrain.
It8217;s also the message Parma8217;s trying to spread and that8217;s been an uphill battle. When the organisation wanted to advertise a helpline number, local newspapers refused to print it.
IN the face of such opposition not many can show the perseverance Rekha and Sonu did. Reena name changed remains a confused college girl who ran away from a Saurashtra town to the Parma office in Vadodara to escape a marriage she was being forced into.
Then there is Seema name changed who has made her own strategic adjustments. She has got her girlfriend married to her brother so that they can be together. A married old man writes how he likes to cross-dress as a woman. In Halol, the locals hint at some lesbian couples but add that no one dares to openly say so.
Rekha8217;s uncle Chhotu Marwari now believes that Sonu is a eunuch and that there is a deep-seated conspiracy between the police and Punjab which has a skewed sex ratio and yes, even neighbouring Pakistan.
These are the rants of a conservative man, who however, admits to being puzzled about how a Marwari girl could choose another girl over her own family.
Meanwhile, Rekha and Sonu, somewhere, brave threats and try to live out the life of an unusual friendship.
