In the Deoria area of Uttar Pradesh, a temple hosted a traditional wedding ceremony for a lesbian couple from West Bengal. South 24 Parganas district residents Jayashree Rahul (age 28) and Rakhi Das (age 23) met while working in an orchestra in Deoria, where they eventually fell in love. The two women, who work in the same orchestra—Munna Pal—told reporters that they first secured a notarized affidavit for their marriage before getting married on Monday at the Bhagada Bhavani temple in Bhatpar Rani, Deoria. Munna informed the media that before being married, the pair had finished all the necessary legal paperwork, which included getting a notarized affidavit for their union. He added that the pair had been turned away by Mahant Jagannath Maharaj at the Dirgeshwarnath temple a few days prior, claiming that they had not received permission from higher-ups in the area to get married.
Unfazed, the couple and their well-wishers went about finding a different path. They got a notarized marriage affidavit and then proceeded to the Bhagada Bhawani temple in Majhauliraj, where they exchanged garlands in front of the temple priest, he added.
The pair discussed their love journey and the obstacles they overcame to deepen their commitment to one another in a post-wedding statement. Opinions regarding same-sex couples have changed recently, homosexuality has long been stigmatized in traditional Indian society. There are now openly gay celebrities in India, and some well-known Bollywood films have addressed gay themes.
A Pew survey from 2013 to 2019 found that acceptance of homosexuality in India rose by 22 percentage points to 37%. However, harassment of same-sex couples is common in many Indian communities, be they Christian, Muslim, or Hindu.
