IUML leader and former MLA KM Shaji recently made comments about the LGBTQIA+ community that go beyond personal opinion and raise serious concerns. In a TV interview, he described homosexuality as a “disease,” opposed gay and lesbian rights, and supported conversion therapy, a practice that is banned in India.
Shaji also compared homosexuality to violence and child abuse, linking it with crimes like murder and pedophilia. Such comparisons are false and harmful. Medical science does not view queerness as an illness, and India’s top medical body, the National Medical Commission, banned conversion therapy in 2022, calling it professional misconduct.
These remarks are part of a pattern. Other IUML leaders have earlier made similar statements against queer and trans people. Such language fuels stigma and fear, especially in a society where LGBTQIA+ people already face discrimination.
The article points out that conversion therapy is not just illegal but also cruel. Investigations in Kerala have shown that some hospitals still use abusive methods, including electric shocks, often due to pressure from families who hold views similar to Shaji’s. Survivors have spoken about severe trauma caused by these practices.
Shaji also tried to divide the LGBTQIA+ community, saying only intersex people “deserve” empathy, while others should not be accepted. This creates a harmful hierarchy and denies dignity to people whose identities do not fit narrow definitions.
Importantly, the Supreme Court decriminalised consensual same-sex relationships in 2018. When political leaders ignore this and promote prejudice, they undermine citizens’ legal rights and safety.
The article argues that public leaders have a duty to protect all citizens. Democracy depends on inclusion, respect, and the willingness to unlearn harmful beliefs—not on spreading fear or hatred against vulnerable communities.
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