Tribe in India
blesses lesbian marriage

Two women were married in India last month after they fled their hometown together to elope in another village, the BBC reported Wednesday. The two women returned to Dandabadi to face their disapproving neighbors with the help of each of their families.

In India, where same-sex unions are unheard of, a village elder told the BBC that the women wanted to prove they could live without the help of men and that they love each other, which persuaded the village to "forgive them."

The women paid a fine to their community in the form of a barrel of country liquor, a pair of oxen, and a sack of rice for the cost of the ceremony.

Wetka Polang, 30, and Melka Nilsa, 22, both were in unhappy relationships with men before meeting each other. Polang told the BBC that she was in an abusive marriage with an alcoholic man, while Nilsa was to have an arranged marriage with a man she told her family was mentally "not normal."

The couple plans to adopt a child together, possibly the son of Polang's older brother. (The Advocate)