“When nobody is listening to meet our demands, why should we vote? What is the use?” asked Kajal, a radio jockey in the city, at a voting awareness programme organised by the Dakshina Kannada Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) Committee here on Tuesday.
Ms. Kajal said that sexuality minorities need employment, housing and respect from the society. “We are also human beings. Though the country has got independence, we (sexuality minorities) still have not,” she said, adding that earlier she had to resort to begging for a living.
She expressed unhappiness at the fact that no one was listening to the basic demand for housing by sexuality minorities. She now lives in a rented house at Brahmavar in Udupi district.
Sandhya, another member of the sexuality minority community, said many of them have been forced to sleep at bus stands and bus shelters as a majority of people are not ready to rent out houses to them. Similarly, getting jobs is another issue, she said.
Responding to them, M.R. Ravi, chairman of the DK SVEEP Committee and CEO of the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, said the government and judiciary have recognised the rights of sexuality minorities now. “But it will take some time for you to get due respect from society. It will not happen all of a sudden,” he said.
Mr. Ravi said the administration was aware that without having a proper place to stay, it would be difficult to provide residential address to get voter ID cards. The administration has taken up their demand for housing, he said.
He also asked those who have their names in the voters’ list to vote and press for their demands with the government. “Make the government listen to your demands by voting,” he said.
Mr. Ravi said it is estimated that Dakshina Kannada has 1,672 sexuality minorities.
Mallanagouda, Senior Principal Civil Judge and member-secretary of the Dakshina Kannada District Legal Services Authority, asked everyone to vote honestly without succumbing to pressure or attractions. He said it was not proper to blame the system for all the problems in society without exercising one’s responsibility to vote.
