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- Title
LGBT+ rights claims for marriage equality and the possibilities of transforming Indian family law.
- Authors
Agarwal, Akshat
- Abstract
The Indian Supreme Court decriminalized homosexuality in 2018 and recognized the equal constitutional citizenship of LGBT+ Indians. Since then, several petitions seeking marriage equality have been filed before Indian courts. In parallel, critics have argued that traditional approaches to LGBT+ equality ignore problematic family law institutions, and have stressed the need to think beyond legal inclusion to recognize diverse families. These arguments are not unique to India. Claiming LGBT+ rights within existing family law institutions has divided LGBT+ activists the world over. The commonly advanced argument is that assimilation into existing patriarchal social institutions disregards radical transformational possibilities. However, experiences in jurisdictions like the United States challenge this premise and show how family law can potentially be transformed through LGBT+ rights claims. While we still await an authoritative judicial pronouncement on marriage equality in India, this article argues that legally recognizing marriage equality may positively impact existing family laws by generating arguments for expanding recognition of diverse families. It shows that achieving marriage equality through the recognition of LGBT+ relational rights, comprising LGBT+ family equality and the right to legal recognition of LGBT+ relationships, has the potential for progressively expanding Indian parenthood laws. The article specifically demonstrates how this is possible in guardianship, assisted reproduction, and adoption laws and may benefit diverse different-sex families, single parents, and persons in non-marital relationships.
- Subjects
INDIA. Supreme Court; LGBTQ+ people; DOMESTIC relations; SAME-sex marriage; SOCIAL institutions
- Publication
International Journal of Constitutional Law, 2023, Vol 21, Issue 4, p1116
- ISSN
1474-2640
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/icon/moad096