Malappuram: The High Court of Kerala on Wednesday issued notice to a hospital in Kozhikode that allegedly subjected a lesbian woman to forced conversion therapy.
The order was issued by the single bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran on a petition filed by Sumayya Sherin and Afeefa C S, a lesbian couple from Kondotty in Malappuram. The court will hear the matter again in two weeks.
The couple moved the court stating Afeefa's parents admitted her to a psychiatric hospital to change her sexual orientation.
Sumayya's legal battle to unite with Afeefa received a lot of attention in Kerala last year. She filed a writ of habeas corpus after Afeefa was reportedly abducted by her parents from Puthencruz in Ernakulam, where the couple had moved in.
Afeefa initially expressed willingness to go with her parents when she was produced before the court. But later she revealed that her statement was under the influence of a heavy dose of drugs, she had been allegedly administered. The court granted police protection to the couple.
“We filed the complaint after we started living together. I was subjected to conversion therapy against my will. Now, we have been living together peacefully,” Afeefa told Onmanorama.
The couple has sought the intervention of the court in forming mental health guidelines making such conversion therapies illegal and taking legal action against the hospital. The couple has also approached the Indian Psychiatric Society against the illegal treatments done under the pretext of curing homosexuality.