Gay Women Face Double the Pressure in India

"Gays and lesbians in India seem to have more freedom than just a decade ago. But, says Lesley Esteves, a writer and journalist in Delhi, Indian lesbians face very different challenges than gay men do. As women they have considerably less control over their lives than their male counterparts.  “The problems lesbians face are also the problems women in general face in India,” Ms. Esteves said. “Economic disempowerment and economic inequality are at the root of it.”

These issues may be common to many Indian women, but Ms. Esteves said they were amplified for lesbians. A woman who reveals that she is a lesbian risks disinheritance. And in parts of the country where women must have permission from their families to work outside the home, the option of moving out to live one’s own life does not exist."