Bhubaneswar: International sprinter from Odisha Dutee Chand wants to be father of a child after marriage to her girlfriend Monalisha Das.
Dutee, India’s first gay sprinter, said this in an interview to India Today. “We will definitely get married. I will be the father while Monalisha will be the mother when we will have a child,” she said.
Dutee, who has been vociferous about same sex marriage after coming out in the open about her relationship, said though it has not been legalised in India, she was hopeful of their marriage in future. But, for now, she was focusing on her sporting career, she added.
“Same sex marriage has been legalised in many countries. I hope it will be considered illegal in India soon. We live in a democratic country and everybody has a right to lead his/her life the way he/she wants. We should respect everybody’s personal life,” she said.
The sprinter, who faced a strong opposition from her family after revealing her same-sex relationship, said they (family members) accepted her after she convinced them.
Dutee, who was featured in the front page of the magazine, condemned homophobia and called for the LGBT+ people to be allowed to live without “fear of persecution or death”.
In a show of her support to the cause, she had participated in Queen’s Baton in Birmingham, England to shed light on homophobia in Commonwealth countries alongside British synchronised diver and Olympic gold medalist Tom Daley last year.
