Dutee Chand, the ace Indian sprinter, recently opened up about her 5-year-long same-sex relationship with her relative. She expressed her firm decision of marrying her soulmate and also talked about the objections she has been receiving from her family on her relationship.
Dutee’s mother, Akhoji has come forward to express her concern on her daughter’s choice to marry a relative of the same sex.
“Dutee wants to marry a girl, who is the daughter of my niece, so she is my grand-daughter. In this relation, Dutee will be like a mother of that girl. Then how will it be possible in our society in Odisha, she told et.
“I told her (Dutee) that I cannot accept this. She told me that the court has given the order. When I asked which court has given you such order, she told me that High court. I told her that I’m alive here and you are bringing orders from the court. She told me that yes court has given order and all the mentors are supporting me. (She asked) whether you will support me or not. I asked which Sir, Shiv Sir, Gagan Sir or Samanta sir, Achyut Samant of KIIT college,” she added.
“She told that I’ll do everything by the help of them. I told her that I’ll like to talk to them, but she avoided it. So day before yesterday, I told my elder daughter Saraswati that I don’t know where they are staying, you take me to them. Saraswati took me to them but he (Achyut Samant of KIIT) had already left for Delhi and yesterday when all these things were happening,” she said.
Akhoji wants her daughter to get rid of this controversy and focus on sports. “I want that she (Dutee) should focus on her sports as the government wants. Government has given a lot of money to her for the sake of the country. Dutee may not keep father and mother’s name but she should keep the prestige of the nation through her sports,” she said.
The Supreme court has scrapped section 377 of IPC which criminalized homosexuality in 2018. Gay marriages in the country are however still illegal. But the Hindu Marriage Act states that two people cannot tie the knot if they fall under “prohibited degree of relationship”.
We wish Dutee all the best in her fight for love and hope love wins!