Two women get married in UP

Two women on Friday "married" each other in neighbouring Hamirpur district, officials said here Saturday.

"Two women living under Rath Police Station area of Hamirpur came to my office on Friday, and married each other by garlanding one another," sub-registrar Ramkishor Pal said.

"One of the women is 26 years old. The another is 21 year old, who is a mother. They came with an affidavit that their marriage be registered and that it should be socially recognised," he said.

The marriage was however not registered, Pal said.

The Supreme Court in September decriminalised gay sex but the law doesn't allow same-sex marriage.

Dayashankar Tiwari, the lawyer for the 21-year-old, said his client is the daughter of a government school teacher, while the 26-year-old is the daughter of a labourer. Both married on their own wish, the lawyer said.

The LGBTQ community and others welcomed the Supreme Court judgment decriminalising consensual gay sex, asserting that the "historic" verdict granted them a basic human right but also acknowledged that complete equality was still some distance away.