Hundreds of people joined a Queer Pride
parade in India's Capital on Sunday.
Revelers wore colorful costumes and
waved rainbow flags as they marched through the streets of New Delhi.
In 2013, India's Supreme Court
reinstated a ban on gay sex, striking down a lower court's 2009
ruling that declared intercourse between two consenting members of
the same sex legal. Last year, the court said it would revisit the
issue.
Section 377 of India's penal code is a
holdover from British colonial rule. Violators of the law face up to
10 years in jail.
Activists attending the city's 10th
annual Queer Pride told the AP that they were frustrated with the law
and hoped it would change soon.
“The idea of having section 377 in
India is irrelevant in my head. I don't understand why they
[authorities] criminalize love. Duh, they are jerks,” Tish Anand
said.
One of the organizers, Manak Matiyani,
said that his wealth and education allowed him to live openly as a
gay man but that it was more difficult for those less fortunate.
“We're fighting for the right of
everybody in this country to live as an equal citizen, which means
that everybody should be able to live their life the way they want
to,” he said.