‘I am Coming Out’- What awaits me? Life or Death

The following article is written by Sumathy Murthy from LesBit and also a close supporter of New Socialist Alternative (CWI-India), on the recent brutal murder of a Transgender activist from Kerala, Anil Sadanandan alias Mariya. Also find below a protest letter drafted by concerned organizations and individuals to the Kerala State Home Ministry. We request working class organizations, activists and others to endorse this letter.

Editors

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In the world of queers, ‘coming out’ is made like a monster. We need to introspect this very ‘coming out’, which most of the times is said to be a sacrifice for the future generations of gender and sexual minorities. What we need to look at is also how this ‘coming out’ costs us the lives of sexual and gender minorities who like anyone else have dreams, desires, likes and dislikes, rights and assertions. These days the deaths for various reasons in the gender and sexual minorities are alarming. Recently on 9th May 2012, in Kollam (Kerala) Mariya (Anil Sadananadan) was brutally murdered. Her throat was slit and she was stabbed in her stomach. Chilli powder was put on the body so that the police dogs would not sniff. The door was locked from outside when next day her co-workers came to see her.

Mariya a gender and sexuality rights activist was the person who had come out about her being transgender in Kerala and also had divorced her wife. She was colourful, vibrant, humorous, friendly, accepting and caring. Some months ago when there was a crisis in LesBiT, where we had not informed anyone and were trying to handle it on our own, she surprised us by calling to find out about the details and offering support. Usually within the sexual and gender minority community it is rare that male born trans activists offering help or even dignifiedly recognising female born sexual and gender minorities.

In the recent years in Kerala state many trans people have migrated to other cities for they have felt very difficult to survive in Kerala. Some have expressed that if they wanted to live the life of their choice and desire they cannot live in Kerala. At the same time, there are many trans and sexual minority people who have faced the conservative Kerala state and stood firmly in the state. One such person was Mariya. While some of the states in India like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Delhi and West Bengal organised pride marches, Kerala started its pride march for sexual and gender minorities only in the last two years. Mariya was exuberant not just in participating but also in organising the prides.

This patriarchal globalized, capitalist society has a very strong way to silencing the voice of dissent. As child, I have often heard the word ‘tolerance’ in the context of kings and emperors being tolerant to other religions in history lessons. We probably have never thought about ‘gender tolerance’ linking up to sexuality. The word though is beautiful has different articulations may be. Two years ago a Hijra ( A Male to female trans sexual from a particular cultural background in India) friend of ours was brutally murdered because she had slightly longer hair length than what the parents were demanding her to keep. Intolerance can manifest itself in the most brutal monstrous ways.

Mariya’s Face book quote about herself is “I Am Coming Out”, and now for many of us it is scary not just for ourselves but our community that is in danger for when we embrace thiss freedom, the intolerant society can brutally ends us.

Sumathy Murthy

Bangalore

To,

The Home Minister

Kerala State

Statement Expressing Concern over the Brutal Murder of Gender/Sexuality Activist
We, the following human rights organizations and concerned individuals, express our shock and deep concern over the brutal murder of gender and sexuality rights activist Anil Sadanandan/Maria. S/he was seen as a warm and friendly activist with full of energy by everyone.

Maria/Anil was murdered at night on May 9, 2012 at their place of residence in Thankassery in Kollam district. The 39 year old activist was deeply connected with the human rights issues of the sexuality minority issues in Kerala. While working at the Harbour Engineering Department of the Kerala State Government, s/he was involved with the preparatory work of Queer Pride 2012, Kerala.

Sexuality and gender minorities as a community have faced various kinds of physical attacks for years from those who are not tolerant of diversities of gender expression or sexuality. This time, it has been brutal, and Maria/Anil was found with cuts on the neck and stab wounds on the stomach. We would like to bring to your attention on the growing tendency in Kerala to use brutal physical violence to deal with differences.

We are also concerned over the growing nature of `blaming the victim’ rhetoric when such a ghastly event takes place. We express our shock over the attempts of the police to question and search the houses of gender/ sexuality activists instead of searching for the real culprits. Already, the gender/ sexuality minorities are facing attacks from the civil society and police in India. Such move by the police will only make this community more insecure.

We also condemn all physical attacks on activists in Kerala and call upon social organizations, activists and people’s movements to come out in a united manner against the politics of physical violence on activists in general.

We therefore demand that:

1.     The brutal murder of Anil is promptly and accurately investigated, and the culprits punished.

2.     All attacks on the gender/ sexuality minority community are stopped and prevented immediately.

3. Kerala State Government takes active involvement to provide safety and protection to the gender and sexuality minorities.