India’s first ever gay prince has a message of love (VIDEO)
Indian gay activist, Prince of Rajpipla Manvendra Singh Gohil (SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/Getty Images)
The first out gay prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, has recorded a moving video about coming out when his country still criminalises gay sex.
Gohil, the prince of Rajpipla, Gujarat, recorded the video with Come Out Loud.
He says that growing up with means, and privilege, actually made it harder to come to terms with his sexual orientation.
The prince says: “When I was around 12 or 13, I realised I wasn’t attracted towards the opposite sex, I was attracted to the same sex. Why is this attraction happening? I wasn’t clear about it because I did not have communication with anyone,” Gohil explained.
“Being brought up with servants and not many friends… no internet… it was a very confusing state.”
Gohil came out internationally in 2007 in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Now 40, the prince was disowned by his royal family, and had previously been married to a princess.
The prince now wants to remove the stigma attached to people who have same-sex attractions and live in India, as the country’s Supreme Court in 2013 reinstated a ban on gay sex.
Those convicted can now be jailed for up to 10 years, after the court undid a ruling from a lower court from 2009, which effectively decriminalised gay sex.
“We’re all human beings. We should be treated equally and be given the rights which we have been denied,” Gohil says in the video.
“All we expect from the society is love. Gay rights cannot just be won in the courtroom, but also in the hearts and minds of the people we live with.
Watch the video, via Come Out Loud, below:
