The Two Women Who Helped Normalize Same-Sex Relations in India
- guidetopw
- Sep 13, 2020
- 3 min read
Meneka Guruswamy (pictured left) and Arundhati Katju (pictured right).
Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy are powerful women. They are best known for their hard work in normalizing same-sex relations in India, a place where the subject is frowned upon even talking about. Here is more about their story.
Birth and Education
Career and Events
Awards/Contributions
Katju & Guruswamy
Who was she?
Katju was born on August 19, 1982 in India. She was a very hardworking and dedicated child which led her to gaining an extensive education and becoming a successful lawyer that had the ability to practice both in India and in the US. Katju first graduated from the Air Force Bal Bharati School in 2000 and later earned a degree from the National Law School of India University in Bangalore in 2005. She practiced in India for about 11 years before enrolling in a program in the US (2017) at Columbia University where she advocated for human rights, was a scholar of James Kent, and a Public Interest Honoree. Her research at Columbia inspired her to achieve her dreams when she started to consider issues of criminal and constitutional law in India.
Her Journey and Work
Katju practiced as a criminal defense lawyer and a white collar defense lawyer where she investigated and represented journalists as well. She started her own law chambers in 2011 in New Delhi and her practice at the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court covered areas of practice that include: criminal, civil and constitutional law, and arbitration.
Her work first started as a regular lawyer that was successful and won many of the cases, but one of her most important cases became her defining moments. Katju drafted the lead petition in Navtej Singh Johar and Others vs. Union in India, which led to the India Supreme Court striking down Section 377, and in response to that she litigated other significant LGBT rights cases in India. She did not approve of the decriminalization of homosexuality in India and she fought to make sure that people who deserved to be treated and viewed equally received their rights by fighting for years on cases that would give her clients what they deserved.
Her Accomplishments
Not only did Katju accomplish what she wanted the world to recognize but also received recognition through honorable awards. She was awarded the Human right Fellowship by Columbia University and the Women’s International Leadership Program Fellowship at International House. Additionally she received Columbia Law School’s Herman N. Memorial Fellowship, and was a US-Italy Young Leaders Fellow. In addition to receiving awards, she also has many prominent publications published in her lifetime, some of them leading to her receiving the awards she did.
After receiving awards for her contributions she was also recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the Time’s Magazine and she also got the chance to speak about how stories can change the law on Tedx.
Her Work With Menaka Guruswamy
Dr. Guruswamy has successfully sought reform in India to overturn section 377 that says it is against the law to have the same-sex relations. Her achievements and rewards were well deserved along with Katju and she was featured on the Foreign Policy magazine’s list of 100 most influential global thinkers with Katju and also on the Times Magazine for being one of the most influential people (Top 100). She is recognized all over the world and even had an unveiling ceremony at Rhodes House in Oxford University.
She has often been published in The New York Times, the Indian Express, and Hindustan Times that help her gain recognition for her causes and numerous publications she wrote while she studied at Oxford University, Harvard Law School. And the National Law School of India.
Guruswamy and Katju brought justice to the Indian LGBT community, something they are very proud to have achieved given the strict social structure in Indian society. Their contributions to society are so significant, and definitely changed history for good.
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