Article 377? The answer..

Shreya wrote this for the blog :)

The 'L' word...

There was a stunned silence in the room. Shonal’s parents were shocked. Why did it have to happen to their daughter? Why did they have to have such a disgrace right in front of their eyes? Her father looked at her angrily over his newspaper and said, ‘You need to know that its not going to be accepted in this house. Do you realize the repercussions of what you’re saying? What will people think of our family, of us in society, and what about you?’ he barked and slammed his fist hard on the table.

‘We’ve always given you the independence and it seems to have gone to your head, you ungrateful girl,’ said her mother, slapping her hard on her face and storming out of the room, followed shortly by her father with his newspaper, but not before he shot her an icy stare that made her go cold with fear.

Shonal sat transfixed at the table, tears streaming down her cheeks. After social ostracism at school, it was the turn of her parents to isolate her when she needed them the most. And her only fault was her frankness about her sexual orientation. She had admitted to her loved ones that she was a lesbian, and instead of getting support, she received flak from all corners and was left in isolation, as if suffering from some contagious disease. As she slept that night, she pondered over how unfair the world was. She hated everyone for their sneers, their indifference, their lack of empathy and most of all for their bigotry…

The next morning, as she was getting ready for school, her mother came into her room and said,’ You’re not going to school.’

‘Why not?,’ demanded Shonal, who loved school and would not miss it for anything, though the past few days had made school a living hell for her.

‘Because we think a little social ostracism may force you to introspect a little on what you told us yesterday,’ said her mother, as she left for work, shutting the door behind her. Shonal was sure she heard the door lock as her mother’s footsteps faded away.

It had been three days since Shonal had eaten. She had survived on water. She was being kept away from her beloved books, the computer and any form of human contact. She felt dead by now and her only source of entertainment at present was her diary.

In the afternoon, she fastened the bolt to the door of her room and made sure it was in order. There was nothing much left to do as her room was bereft of all her possessions. Once she was done, she looked skyward and prayed to God, one last time…

Shonal’s mother knocked on the door but got no response. She tried to open it but it had been fastened from inside.

‘This girl must have gone off to sleep again, she hasn’t eaten anything, did we do something wrong by not talking to her?,’ said her mother guiltily to her father, as he was trying to unlock the door.

‘We need to talk to her now, I dread to think what her state will be. I hope she hasn’t fainted,’ her father said, his brows frowning with concentration and worry, finally managing to unfasten the door.

They entered the room and looked around, only to scream their lungs out for the rest of their lives…

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Guys, post in your comments as to what you think about repealing Article 377? I am going to post my views very soon!

love

Siddharth