Taking a final stroll at the Queer Pride, I bumped into a couple. Oblivious to the song and dance around them, there were talking intimately.
Just when they were about to whisper sweet nothings into each other’s ears, their friends interrupted them. The couple along with others were a part of the 10th annual Queer Parade in New Delhi on Sunday.
When I approached the couple, they seemed very friendly. They recited their love story in one breath.
They met at a party, hit it off and started seeing each other. After gleefully telling me their story, they sulked. Their safe space to express love to each other would soon cease to exist. They only had a few more hours left.
Their relationship is forbidden in our country.
They’re a gay couple.
But, for those five hours in the pride, love and freedom was unconditional. It created a space for all genders to express, demonstrate, scream, dance, sing and just be.
I have lived in Delhi for over eight years now. Every time that I have stepped out, I have been groped, teased or harassed in some form. Participating in the parade was liberating in many ways; I survived five hours harassment-free!
The couple then joined the queer bandwagon: they danced to the tunes of ‘hum kya chaahte? Azaadi! 377 se azaadi’.
I bid the couple goodbye and jumped towards the giant LGBTQI flag. The flag symbolises diversity: it stands for freedom of expression and the freedom to love.
The pride, as the name suggests, wants everyone to take pride in their sexuality. However, it isn’t a parade without a cause. This is what they demand:
- Hate crime legislation that conceptualises all forms of anti-minority violence as specifically punishable offences.
- Comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation and social accountability for discrimination on the basis of gender, class, caste, religion, ability, race, tribe, sexual orientation, and ethnicity.
- Effective implementation of the provisions of the Supreme Court judgment in NALSA vs Union of India and serious revisions to the currently draconian form of the trans-rights bill according to inputs and suggestions by the community.
- Read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, repeal Karnataka Police Act 36 A and Hyderabad Eunuch Act, anti-beggary, anti-Hijra laws, sedition laws, UAPA and AFSPA, and remove the marital rape exception from rape laws which should offer redressal to all victims/survivors of sexual assault irrespective of gender.
The pride concluded with members from the LGBTQ+ community performing with their partners and supporters. It ended on a high yet with a pinch of salt. Did the parade seem too utopic? No! Can the free space be created without a formal event like that of the parade? Yes!
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