On Sept. 6, India’s Supreme Court decriminalized consensual gay sex and removed Section 377 from the Indian Penal Code. University of Iowa students from India said they were pleased with the change.

Section 377, which dates to 1861, was introduced during the British colonization of India. The law criminalized sexual activities that were “against the law of nature.”

Under the law, the punishment for homosexual relations could lead to a life sentence. The Constitution bench, made of five judges, unanimously decided to overturn Section 377.

The court ruling made waves in India and across the world. For international students at the UI, the ruling came as a pleasant surprise.

“I was shocked, to be honest. I wasn’t expecting it to be that soon,” UI freshman Abdullah Malik said. “But I was happy. Criminalizing something which is not in a person’s hands, I don’t think it’s right.”

Though the decriminalization of gay sex has made strides for the LBGT community in India, freshman Ayushi Sood said it may be a while until tolerance for the community is at the same level that it is in the U.S.

“In the past few years in India, there’s been a lot of change, but if looking back, it’s still taboo in India,” Sood said. “You wouldn’t discuss it with your parents, and you wouldn’t discuss it at home in India, but I think it’s pretty open here.”

Malik agreed that India needs to take more steps before it can reach the level of tolerance that the U.S. has achieved.

“In America, it’s pretty straightforward. We can talk about [the LBGT community] freely; we can discuss it freely,” Malik said. “I think people in America are more open to that idea, but in India it’s not like that. It’s still stigmatized. It’s not as open as America.”

Though India’s stance on homosexuality isn’t comparable with that of the U.S., the topic of religious marginalization does play a role in both countries. In India, people never associate themselves with being LGBT, because they are scared of the reaction of the religious and narrow-minded people, freshman Janhavi Bodkhe said.

However, some disagree with the need to attach religion to homophobia. Malik, who was raised in an Islamic family, said they advised him to be open to new people, thoughts, and cultures. They were always open to homosexuality, Malik said.

“People tend to stereotype that,” Malik said. “I don’t think it’s an Islamic thing; I think there are people in every religion that condone homosexuality.”

Sood believes homophobia is derived from familial mindsets rather than religious ones. As a whole, however, it could be attributed to India’s cultural roots rather than religious, she said.

“If we talk about India as a whole, I think it’s a cultural thing that goes on there,” Sood said. “There’s nothing about religion. If you talk to a Hindu or a Muslim, they have their own thoughts, and there’s nothing related to religion.”

Despite the concerns, the court ruling to get rid of Section 377 is a groundbreaking step for the country.

“For a country such as India, this is a big step ahead and a bold move,” Bodkhe said. “This is going to be the start of viewing people from the LGBT community as equals.”