Centre forms 6-member committee to look into issues faced by queer community

• The Centre constituted a six-member committee to examine various issues relating to the queer community.
• The panel will be headed by the Cabinet secretary. The Secretary, Department of Home, Secretary of Ministry of Women and Child Development, Secretary of Department of Health and Family Welfare, Secretary of Legislative Department and Secretary of Department of Social Justice and Empowerment are among other members of the committee.
• The move comes months after the Supreme Court refused to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages asserting the matter should be dealt by the Parliament.
• On October 17, 2023, the apex court directed the Centre to constitute a committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary to examine the issues related to the queer community.
• The committee will suggest measures to ensure that the queer community does not encounter any discrimination in accessing goods and services, social welfare schemes, or face threat of violence among others.

Supriyo Vs Union of India case

• The petitioners challenged the validity of Section 4 (c) of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 on that ground that the provision discriminates against same sex couple by denying them benefits such as adoption, surrogacy, employment and retirement benefits.

About LGBTQIA+ Community:

• The “L, G” and “B” refer to sexual orientation, meaning those to which one is attracted, most often referring to lesbian or gay.
• Bisexual is an attraction to both males and females.
• Transgender refers to one who identifies as a sex other than was named at birth.
• The Q indicates questioning and queer.
• Questioning is a label one might use to convey they are exploring their identity and may not want to label themselves while Queer is often used to identify oneself as a member of the LGBTQIA++ community.
• The “I” speaks to intersex in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male.
• ‘A’ refers to asexual who do not have sexual feelings.
• ‘++’ suggests openness and inclusivity.