Gay prince to aid awareness in central jail
http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/2011050820110508024151679d0f24181/Gay-prince-to-aid-awareness-in-central-jail.html
Authority claims homosexual activity is unheard of in Sabarmati jail. Then why invite Manvendrasinh Gohil whose work focuses on AIDS prevention among MSMs?
Hemington James
Prince Manvendrasinh Gohil, who had created ripples when he had openly admitted his homosexuality, has been invited by jail authorities to create awareness on HIV and AIDS at Sabarmati Central Jail and all other jails in the state.
Authority claims that homosexual activity is unheard of in Sabarmati jail. So, it is interesting to note that of all AIDS activists in the state, they chose to invite the gay prince who runs Lakshya Trust — an organisation that works for prevention among men who have sex with men (MSMs).
Says Gohil, “Why invite me to create awareness if homosexuality is not practised in jails? The officials can say what they want but sex is a basic need that needs to be fulfilled. It is impossible that men, who have been confined for long behind bars, have not formed such relationships.
“If an inmate contracts HIV/AIDS in jail, he is likely to pass it on to his wife or other sexual partners,” the prince told Mirror.
However, authorities assert that no homosexual activity has come to light in the jail. Jail Superintendent R J Parghi said, “No case of homosexuality has come to our notice. As far as we are concerned, it is not practised in Sabarmati jail. Anyway, sodomy is a crime under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. We will most certainly register a case against anyone found indulging in such acts.”
He added, “The reason that such activity cannot go on in the jail is because we do not confine just two inmates in one cell. Either the inmate stays solo or in groups of three or more. There are securitymen to keep an eye on them always.”
Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) PC Thakur said, “We are inviting the prince to speak to the inmates because he is internationally renowned for spreading HIV/AIDS awareness and has been running several successful campaigns. Homosexuality is a crime and the prince has been invited only to spread awareness on AIDS/HIV.”
It may be noted that the Gujarat State AIDS Control Society had distributed condoms to policemen and inmates released from jail as part of a national programme for AIDS prevention.
Refuting the claims made by jail authorities, Director (Programme and Policy) of India HIV/AIDS Alliance Sonal Mehta said, “Efforts are on to recognise homosexual activity in jails and ensure that measures for prevention are in place. This includes distributing condoms and implementing other measures of prevention.”
Sociologist Gaurang Jani said, “In 2001, we visited jails as part of AIDS and HIV awareness programmes. We believe that gay behaviour must be prevalent in jails.”
Authority claims homosexual activity is unheard of in Sabarmati jail. Then why invite Manvendrasinh Gohil whose work focuses on AIDS prevention among MSMs?
Hemington James
Prince Manvendrasinh Gohil, who had created ripples when he had openly admitted his homosexuality, has been invited by jail authorities to create awareness on HIV and AIDS at Sabarmati Central Jail and all other jails in the state.
Authority claims that homosexual activity is unheard of in Sabarmati jail. So, it is interesting to note that of all AIDS activists in the state, they chose to invite the gay prince who runs Lakshya Trust — an organisation that works for prevention among men who have sex with men (MSMs).
Says Gohil, “Why invite me to create awareness if homosexuality is not practised in jails? The officials can say what they want but sex is a basic need that needs to be fulfilled. It is impossible that men, who have been confined for long behind bars, have not formed such relationships.
“If an inmate contracts HIV/AIDS in jail, he is likely to pass it on to his wife or other sexual partners,” the prince told Mirror.
However, authorities assert that no homosexual activity has come to light in the jail. Jail Superintendent R J Parghi said, “No case of homosexuality has come to our notice. As far as we are concerned, it is not practised in Sabarmati jail. Anyway, sodomy is a crime under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. We will most certainly register a case against anyone found indulging in such acts.”
He added, “The reason that such activity cannot go on in the jail is because we do not confine just two inmates in one cell. Either the inmate stays solo or in groups of three or more. There are securitymen to keep an eye on them always.”
Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) PC Thakur said, “We are inviting the prince to speak to the inmates because he is internationally renowned for spreading HIV/AIDS awareness and has been running several successful campaigns. Homosexuality is a crime and the prince has been invited only to spread awareness on AIDS/HIV.”
It may be noted that the Gujarat State AIDS Control Society had distributed condoms to policemen and inmates released from jail as part of a national programme for AIDS prevention.
Refuting the claims made by jail authorities, Director (Programme and Policy) of India HIV/AIDS Alliance Sonal Mehta said, “Efforts are on to recognise homosexual activity in jails and ensure that measures for prevention are in place. This includes distributing condoms and implementing other measures of prevention.”
Sociologist Gaurang Jani said, “In 2001, we visited jails as part of AIDS and HIV awareness programmes. We believe that gay behaviour must be prevalent in jails.”
Comments
Post a Comment