Even after the Kerala High Court reunited lesbian couple Aadhila Nasrin and Fatima Noora on May 31, they are yet to find a “safe place" to live together. Activist Dhanya Ravindran, who is currently acting as a spokesperson for the couple, said that she cannot even reveal the couple’s location as it may affect their safety.
The couple, in a relationship since their school days, decided to live together after their graduation. But, their families opposed the move. On May 19, Nasrin and Noora took shelter at Vanaja Collective, a Kozhikode-based NGO. It was Ravindran who helped them reach the collective. Their plight came to the limelight after Noora was allegedly abducted on May 24. Subsequently, Nasrin filed the habeas corpus petition.
According to Ravindran, Noora’s family took her to a family friend's house. "They then took her to a 'conversion therapy' centre near Karippur airport, run by a 'religious' counsellor. There, Noora faced a terrible experience, as the counsellor 'explained' the sexual activities he had engaged with his wife, and asked Noora how she was having sex with her partner. He would have been trying to manipulate her for sexual abuse," Ravindran said.
The couple is not bothered about the cyber attacks, says Ravindran. “Majority of people are still unaware of homosexuality," she says. "A lot of people are ignorant about how hormones and chromosomal factors can contribute to a person’s sexuality. Homosexuality has been there since the age human beings started walked on this earth. But, people cannot just accept it, and that is their ignorance. And, we are least bothered about them.”
Ravindran, however, adds that they fear a physical attack. “The couple is fearing an attack not just from their families, but everyone who cannot accept their relationship. “The threat they are facing is from every extremist; it is not limited to extremists from any particular religion or class," says Ravindran.
