| suva chintak |
Posted
on 16-Jan-03 07:49 PM
Dear Sajhabasis,
After a very heavy bout of self-congratulations, self-adulations, self-promotion we might all have upset stomachs, or its equivalent. So it might be time to think about some other, less fortunate people for a change. Kati ma-pai, ma-pai matra garne, aru ko dukha pani ta kahile kanhi sunnu paryoni. So I bring to our self-centered attention the sorry plight of our Himalayan gay brothers (or sisters as the case might be). I ask for your collective outrage!
Valley gays complain of police (har)assment
By Pooja Shrestha
KATHMANDU, Jan 12:Their appearance is a dead give away, making them easy meat for the policeman on the daily beat. They end up being thrashed, abused and in some extreme cases, even are forced to have sex with the men in blue.
Ravi, in his mid-20’s, used to work in a dance restaurant two years back. It was one of those usual days when he along with other co-members were proceeding home after work as a "drag". He had his make-up on. At around one am, their taxi was stopped by a police van. Very soon they found themselves at the Janseva Police Station, New Road.
"We were questioned and were later kept at the girls locker for the night," he recalls with horror. "Not only that, we were also told to apply makeup, even as they clicked our snaps one after another," he adds.
"On the second day, early in the morning at around four, we were told to walk down the streets from New Road to Hanuman Dhoka, dressed as a girl," an embarrassed Ravi says, adding, "People on the street laughed at us."
He was then confined in the men’s locker for four days, during which period he was subjected to regular questioning. "I was even told to have sex with them," he confesses. Ravi now works as a waiter at a restaurant.
Another lad of 20 years narrates his tale of humiliation. Like most youngsters his age, Neeraj had gone to the disco one day. He came out alone at around two in the morning, as all his friends had left early.
"As I was walking down the lane of Durbarmarg to hail a taxi, a police personnel whistled at me. I was dressed in a saree. They stopped me and asked various humiliating questions," he said.
"Chakkas should be killed as they are spoiling society…. Which sex do you belong too?," were some of the many abusive remarks that were hurled at him.
He was asked to fork out money and to leave the police beat at 3.30 in the morning. I gave them Rs 700, the only money I had," he said. "Police directly demand money from us the moment they encounter us. Especially when we are dressed up as a girl or when they come to know of our identity as a gay."
These are not isolated instances. There are quite a few drags who have been harassed merely on the basis of their personal appearances. Simple things like growing their hair and nails long could spell trouble for them.
Most gays oppose these double standards, questioning why they are targeted unfairly when there are many male singers who sport long hair dos or nails.
There are around 10,000 gays in Nepal, says Sunil Pant, the founder of Blue Diamond Society, established in August, 2002. The Society works among homosexuals. "Harassment of gays at the hands of the police must have started a decade ago, but it has never come out in the open," he said.
When asked whether such reports have been reported to the authorities, Pant says that they have registered many cases in various police stations from time to time and have also informed the Human Rights Organisations, but till date not a single action has been taken against the guilty.
On the other hand, police officials deny allegations that they have ever harassed the gays. Inspector Bikram Chand of Janseva Police of New Road feigns ignorance about any such cases being reported.
Efforts to elicit a response from the Hanuman Dhoka police station reached a dead end, as repeated telephonic queries went unanswered.
The last word comes from Pant himself. "Drags are usually harassed as police personnel know that if drags are caught, it means some easy money and free sex".
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