Ten years ago Manvendra Singh Gohil, the Indian prince of Rajpipla, a municipality in the western Indian state of Gujarat was doing his coming out. He continues his fight for sexual tolerance. While homophobia is more violent than ever in India, Manvendra Singh Gohil, the first openly gay Indian prince, has decided to turn his palace into a shelter for all young people from the LGBTI community who need it.
Manvendra Singh Gohil, 52, is a member of one of the oldest Indian royal families. He is well aware that mentalities have not yet evolved. After campaigning against AIDS, including suspending condoms to trees to encourage safe sex, the prince announced the opening of an LGBTQ center on the grounds surrounding in his palace.
A decision motivated by his own experience, in a very traditional country. Manvendra Singh Gohil is indeed known to be the first prince in the world to have openly declared himself homosexual. He is also the head of the Lakshya Trust Association, which supports the LGBT community and makes the prevention of AIDS risks. This activist prince has long had to shut up and hide his homosexuality. In 1991, he married a princess from Jhabua State. But unable to live this life of lies, he confessed his homosexuality to his wife in the months following their marriage. The princely couple divorced one year later.
In 2002, in the grip of a nervous crisis, the crown prince was hospitalized, and his psychiatrist then revealed to his parents that he was homosexual. They didn’t want the news to spread and planded to "cure" him, through medicine and religion, and ended up disinheriting him before going back on their decisions for legal reasons.
The centre aims to deliver clinical services, financial support and skills training for young LGBT+ people so they are able to become financially independent from their families. He runs the centre with his community-based organisation The Lakshya Trust which he started to support gay men and educate people about the prevention of HIV/Aids.
The royal, who says he has been thinking about the idea for 15 years, also plans to use the centre to offer free safe-sex seminars to young LGBT+ people across India and run workshops with parents who have accepted their children’s sexuality. He’s constructing more buildings to house visitors to the centre who will be able to stay in shared accommodation.
Le “Prince Rose” de l’Inde
Un prince indien, ouvertement homosexuel, a annoncé l'ouverture dans son palais d'un centre destiné à recueillir des membres de la communauté LGBT rejetés par leurs parents, dans ce pays où l'homosexualité reste complètement taboue.
Il y a dix ans, Manvendra Singh Gohil un prince indien de l’état du Gujarat a avoué son homosexualité faisant fi des stigmatisations.
Au départ, le prince a été élevé dans le but de se marier et d’avoir un héritier, il choisit de se marier avec une princesse indienne d’un état voisin. Le mariage ne se passera pas comme prévu, en effet il ne sera jamais consommé, face à l’impuissance de son mari. Il décide de lui confier son homosexualité, un an après leur mariage elle demande le divorce et promet de ne jamais révéler son secret. En échange il ne devra pas se remarier et « détruire la vie d’une autre femme ». Cet épisode passé il n’est pourtant toujours pas libéré. En 2002 il va traverser une dépression. Sa famille rejette fermement son orientation sexuelle et décide de garder tout cela secret.
Finalement en 2006 il décidera d’avouer son homosexualité à l’Inde et au monde en 2007 dans l’émission d’Oprah Winfrey. A ce moment il est déjà très impliqué dans la lutte contre le sida, ayant créé une organisation « The Lakshya Trust » qui aide les personnes LGBT, leur donnant des cours, leur apprenant notamment l’anglais ainsi que de la prévention sur le VIH et le sida.
Aujourd’hui âgé de 52ans, il annonce qu’il va ouvrir les portes du palais rose du prince indien, situé dans l’Etat du Gujarat, et qui offrira un toit, des soins médicaux, des formations professionnelles ainsi qu’un soutien financier aux membres de la communauté LGBT se retrouvant en difficulté. De plus, il prévoit également d'utiliser le centre pour offrir des séminaires gratuits de sexualité sans risque aux jeunes LGBT + à travers l'Inde et d’organiser des ateliers avec des parents qui ont accepté la sexualité de leurs enfants.
Auréa
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/india-s-gay-prince-forefront-country-s-lgbtq-movement-n842601
