Sappho for Equality

February, 2011. In a small village of West Bengal, two young women in love with each other―Swapna and Sucheta―took their own lives, leaving a letter claiming love, life, recognition… a letter challenging violence, hate, invisibilization.

…and the unclaimed delves into the aftermath of Swapna and Shucheta’s deaths, as well as the social conditions that led to their choice. “The unclaimed” refers both to the fact that neither of their families came forward to claim their bodies, but also to the tenuous state of existence of queer and trans folks in India. Interviews with Swapna and Shucheta’s families and neighbours are interspersed with the stories of ordinary Indian queer and trans people, as well as activists and advocates, all of whom are dealing with their own experiences of the label “unclaimed”, while fiercely fighting for their rights to live and love.