Pressured to marry, lesbian teen dies by suicide in Nagpur

NAGPUR: An 18-year-old teen died by suicide after her family refused to accept her sexual orientation. The second-year student of arts stream, the elder of two siblings, was found hanging from a ceiling fan at her residence on Sunday.
The teenager, daughter of a central government employee, mentioned in her suicide note that she was lesbian. The victim had further said that it was not possible for her to marry and live a happy life. The girl has also stated in her suicide note that opting to end life by suicide seemed to be a happier idea to her than adopting a life style to which she is not naturally inclined.
The incident has sent shock waves in the city, especially among members of the same-sex community. This is the second such suicide in the city this year related to social complications arising out of arelationship and family’s reluctance to accept it.
In March, a woman had consumed poison after her ‘transgender’ friend had started opposing the victim’s plan to marry a boy. While the victim was allegedly already married to another man, the transgender had started pressuring the victim to distance herself from her earlier husband. Following court’s approval, the cops had also conducted medical examination of the transgender, now in custody with another woman, to ascertain her gender. The test reports are yet to arrive.
In the latest case, the police said the teenager failed to find support from her parents after her sexual orientation came to fore. While the parents disapproved of her gender preferences, she too refused to budge, said sub-inspector Nitin Vithole from Gittikhadan police station, who visited the suicide spot.
“The teenager took the drastic step when the family was away. The father was the first to spot her hanging body,” said Vithole.