The first gay wedding in Hyderabad was much publicized. But behind all the glamour of the wedding, the stark reality is that members of the LGBTQ community, especially males, find it hard to survive in Hyderabad. Their main and foremost problem is with finding accommodation as they constantly face the fear of eviction if their true identities are known. So, many of them end up leading a rather nomadic life.

One LGBTQ rights activist from the city says that many hide their identity as many will not rent them the house if they know their actual identity. And if they get a house, they live in constant fear of having to vacate the house if anyone in their area comes to know about them. In fact, only recently, a techie from the city who happens to be transgender was harassed by members of the residential colony he lived in.

His episode was nothing short of a nightmare. The victim says he was assigned male sex at the time of birth. Though he happens to be transgender, he hasn’t gone for sex reassignment surgery yet. So, he says he dresses up like a man to office, though his behavior is a little feminine. Unfortunately for him, some neighbors didn’t like his behavior, and they complained to his owner. The owner barged into his house and inspected even his personal belongings. The next day, about seven people came to his house and threw his stuff out into the balcony, and the owner told him to vacate the house immediately. Thankfully for him, some friends helped him find new accommodation.

In another incident, some unknown person painted gay and other offensive things on the door of the house of an LGBTQ member, and he was asked to leave by the owner. The victim still feels bad about the way he was treated.

While the law has certainly changed, by and large, society is yet to accept the LGBTQ community as part of the overall society. And that’s the reason why many members of the LGBTQ community do not stay in one place for a long time and are forced to live a nomadic life.