Food, cloth and house. food, clothing and shelter. All three have been essential for a stable life for centuries. Thus, it was only natural that S and K, who started dating in college, would look for a place together once they both had jobs and steady incomes. Finding a place to rent was difficult, but eventually, they found one. The landlord was still willing to accept the two girls who said they were friends.
But the rented flat had its own issues. S and K were both working, and when the landlord wanted to schedule a tour or get the house repainted, it interfered with their work hours and home life. He felt suffocated. S wanted a place for himself. Kay had bookmarked thousands of home decor ideas on Pinterest; She wanted to try them at her place without asking permission from her landlord. For years the two dreamed of a home of their own, the idea becoming more tangible as exuberant notes of what the Khoslas plot in Khosla Ka Ghosla looked like or what Konkona Sen Sharma’s house looked like in Wakeup Sid!
Most importantly, as a same-sex couple, they felt it was necessary and necessary for them to have their own space. They were tired of the critical glances from the building society’s secretary, the constant fear that their landlord would find out about their couple and throw them out, the neighbors’ nice questions about boyfriends and weddings. A house is never just a house. All they wanted was a safe haven away from ridicule and judgment. Owning a home would be an act of rebellion, declaration, commitment and promise.
When they had been together for about a decade and were earning enough to afford their own place, they started looking for a house to buy.
What they didn’t expect was how difficult it would be to access the “house” part of the still-life bargain, especially ownership.
Applying for and getting a home loan for gay couples in India is challenging. Even though homosexuality was decriminalized by law in 2018, same-sex marriage is still illegal in the country.
Same-sex couples face difficulty in obtaining loans because they do not have marriage certificates or other documents to formally establish their relationship. And this is true not just for home loans, but for any legal process, like opening joint bank accounts or enrolling for insurance policies, etc.
Like people for generations, owning a home was always a lifelong aspiration for S and K. Buying and moving into a new home is an important moment in anyone’s life. If you grew up (or still live) in a rented house, you’ll know the value of owning a home, the constant urge to call a place your own.
Yet, across the globe, there are barriers to be faced, both financial and social, when it comes to buying a home. This is even more so for gay couples.
Imagine you have a home and the means to apply for a home loan and are then turned back due to basic identification factors. The LGBTQIA+ movement and community has often had to fight for their rights without hope or support. At the policy and legal level, achieving recognition has been a decades-long exercise. At the societal and individual level, discrimination and stereotypes are widespread. They are often planted in our homes. Think of children who laugh with a certain voice or gait, or worse, how people are bullied, beaten, and abused for their sexual orientation. If you are a minority it is an unfair and harsh world to live in. That is why it is important that everyone in society tries to create a more just and friendly world that accepts people with all kinds of differences.
The search for food, clothing and shelter is not just about basic needs; It symbolizes the aspirations and dreams of individuals seeking stability and a place where they feel comfortable and safe.
For S and K too, like many other same-sex couples across India, the desire for home ownership goes beyond mere financial considerations. It is a yearning for a sanctuary where they can freely express their love without fear of judgment or discrimination. Sadly, the barriers same-sex couples face in accessing home loans and legal processes undermine their pursuit of this right. As a society, we must strive for inclusivity and empathy, eliminate unfair policies, and foster a world that embraces diversity in all its forms. By creating more equal guidelines and offering tailored solutions, we can pave the way toward a future where everyone can feel safe and proud, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
While a change in mindset may take decades or even longer, what we can do now is to get rid of unfair policies and procedures. We must create inclusive policies and guidelines for people of all genders and sexual orientations. We need to approach each issue with sensitivity and nuanced understanding in order to provide the best possible solution to all the members of the society. No less importantly, empathy is needed now, more than ever, in our communications and our relationships. It should be the basis of all our conversations, actions and strategies.
Nalin Jain and Ruhi Pandey are Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Human Resource Officer respectively at Godrej Capital
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