Dilfaraz's Deposition, Delhi Panchayat, Resisting Stigma and Homophobia
Director: Jeevanandhan Rajendran
Duration: 00:07:23; Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1; Hue: 4.363; Saturation: 0.187; Lightness: 0.414; Volume: 0.093; Words per Minute: 158.521
Summary: People’s Panchayats on Resisting Stigma and Homophobia; Action Plus - a Coalition for Rights, Education and Care in HIV and AIDS. Dilfaraz, one of the deposers at the Delhi Panchayat, talks about his identity as a sexual minority, and about some of the work he has done as a part of Sangama. He talks specifically about Sangama's crisis intervention work, and the ways in which the police criminalize sexual minorities, and the people who work for their rights. Dilfaraz also talks about some of the challenges he faced in gaining acceptance from his family and relatives. He ends his deposition by emphasizing that sexual minority people do not want any special favours from society; rather, they want to be recognized as citizens in their own right.
Good morning everybody. I do not know Hindi so well still I will try to speak in Hindi because I have come to Delhi. First of all my name is Dilfaraz. I am working in Sangama PDA as a supervisor and here I want to thank action plus people that they called me over here to speak on the stage. First of all being a sexual minority. I am also a sexual minority. Myself I will call as a homosexual. In this what type of discrimination is there, what type of violence is there, in what way you should face it. I have a liking to tell it. First of all sexual minority people get discrimination from the family, when their character is fully feminine or some people keep a lot of contact with girls means not for sex but to get joined in their group. Behaving like a girl, sticking to them, spending a lot of time with them and they feel they are girls and they start wearing girls clothes, doing makeup, doing eyebrows, leaving their hair long and always staying with their mother. When this kind of character is there, the surrounding neighbors who are there, they start torturing the family. In this way finally the family people are so much tortured that you are a boy and you are behaving like a girl. Why this way, so so much violence and discrimination is there that finally moreover for 100 percent, 75 percent people leave their family and come out. If they go out then in the house there is double discrimination. If they go to hospitals or they go to study in a college, if you go to schools, public stations, public places wherever they go there is discrimination. For example in this place I came to Delhi in November. Police violence is so much in Bangalore that we are not able to say anything. Now the BJP new government that has come, new commissioner who has come, they have to say one talk, one voice is that the hijra people who are there and the sexual minority people who are there, we will remove them from the city because Bangalore is going to be a silicon city so these people are dust of the city, so we have to throw them out from the city. This is their voice now and from last six months so much violence and discrimination is happening that we cannot tell. Usually what is my experience that I can tell means normally in the Sangama we keep a crisis intervention team and this crisis intervention team is running very well. This crisis intervention was started in 2000 from Sangama.
Delhi
People's Panchayats on Resisting Stigma and Homophobia; Action Plus - a Coalition for Rights, Education and Care in HIV and AIDS. Dilfaraz, one of the deposers at the Delhi Panchayat, talks about his identity as a sexual minority, and about some of the work he has done as a part of Sangama. He talks specifically about Sangama's crisis intervention work, and the ways in which the police criminalize sexual minorities, and the people who work for their rights. Dilfaraz also talks about some of the challenges he faced in gaining acceptance from his family and relatives. He ends his deposition by emphasizing that sexual minority people do not want any special favours from society; rather, they want to be recognized as citizens in their own right.
Delhi, India
acceptance
action plus
bjp
citizens
crisis intervention
family
hijra
homosexual
police
rights
sangama
sexual minorities
silicon city
violence
But in 2008 October 20th this crisis intervention way was changed. When five Tgs's got arrested in the police station then being in the crisis team and working full time. I too went to the Banshankari police station to ask for details, but we went to ask them, they arrested all of us and they removed my clothes. They said you are a homosexual, whether you are a boy or a girl they hit me a lot of times. When the Sangama people came to know about this and how many communities were there, they staff who was there, they gathered in full. 500 to 600 people were there outside the police station but they beat them also and from there 31 members were arrested and sent to court. The five people who went including me just for an enquiry, on the four of us they put a false case and four of us were rotting in jail. After the central jail, sangama took us out on bail and then they left us. Now also the case is running because in our law it says that police give protection to us. What kind of protection the sexual minority people are getting. In our law it is written about the police if anyone is arrested then your known people or lawyers or friends circles can be called and questioned. When we went and asked we got this way. This is a small example for police violence. All places we go wherever we go, on us violence is there and when I came to Delhi in this way for this issue to take part in the rally, then in the TV and media it came and I went to my house. After going to my house a very big problem started. In the house they found out homosexual, these people are mostly sexual minorities means they keep a lot of contact with the hijra people. To kick me out of the house I went. Then I too sangama help, then I took crisis intervention help after that I convinced my family members better. I understood that God made my family members accept me. They told me you work in the sangama. Being s sexual minority you are not part of this. You are also a person in the society. Today we will support you. How far you want to go you can go but it does not happen in all the families because in this family it happened and this has to happen in all the families then the people who are sitting here, every person must do work. The people who are sitting here inside, they must go and they should tell about this more in their friend circle or with their friends that the violence that happened, discrimination happened and we tell about our problems then going ahead some people can do something but wherever for so many years this issue of sexual minority is running but wherever this issue all the people come, they sit over here, they listen to us and most of the time they say yes it is good. Lot of problem is there for you, no person goes out and says yes sexual minorities whether they are gays or lesbians or F2ms or hijras or transgenders or transsexuals. Anyone it is, for them it is in this hall their grace and lastly I want to say that we do not want any grace from you. We want our rights in the society that we are also like this and we must also live like these people but before that one topic is there that we also talk so much in the conference but mostly we also go out and do not speak so exposed. This is also our main reason. For you this is my final request that how many people are present over here. From wherever you want to speak of our issues, if you get a chance then speak definitely and take most of the information about us because being in a minority group, we are facing a lot of problems. For these problems there may be a solution in the future. I am keeping hopes that today they gave me a chance to speak on this stage so I would like to thank them. Thanks, thanks.
Delhi
People's Panchayats on Resisting Stigma and Homophobia; Action Plus - a Coalition for Rights, Education and Care in HIV and AIDS. Dilfaraz, one of the deposers at the Delhi Panchayat, talks about his identity as a sexual minority, and about some of the work he has done as a part of Sangama. He talks specifically about Sangama's crisis intervention work, and the ways in which the police criminalize sexual minorities, and the people who work for their rights. Dilfaraz also talks about some of the challenges he faced in gaining acceptance from his family and relatives. He ends his deposition by emphasizing that sexual minority people do not want any special favours from society; rather, they want to be recognized as citizens in their own right.
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