Come to the Delhi Queer Pride, 2009!

We welcome all Queer people, friends and supporters in Delhi to join us for the Delhi Queer Pride on Sunday 28th June 2009. Join us in all your colourful splendour, bring along friends, lovers, family and lend your voice to the slogans that will reverberate in the streets of Delhi! Marching with us will be a brass band that will play our favourite tunes and some dhol wallas too!

The programme:

We assemble at Barakhamaba Road at 5 pm and the march will start at 5.30 pm. We should reach Jantar Mantar at around 7.30 pm - where we have organised some space for people to come up and say a few words or sing or shout slogans! Everyone is welcome!

Please collect from us what you want:

Ÿ We have organised masks so you can cover your face.

Ÿ We have made some placards and have other material like small rainbow flags, whistles, badges and leaflets

All this material, including masks, is free of cost and you have two options to collect these:

a) reach a bit early and collect it from us at the march starting point on 28th June itself.

b) collect it a day before from Saheli office on 27th June 2009 between 4-7 pm. Saheli address: Above Shop No. 105-108, Under Defence Colony Flyover, New Delhi -24 (landmarks: near Defence colony Nirulas and above DeeZ Biryani)

And please keep the following in mind:

Ÿ Do not the litter the place with masks or parchis or water bottles.

Ÿ There will be a box kept near the tent at Jantar Mantar where you can drop off extra leaflets, masks etc. There will also be a box where you can leave the placards that you are carrying.

Ÿ Please carry a bottle of water with you.

Cheers!

Delhi Queer Pride Committee

delhiqueerpride.blogspot.com

Delhi Queer Pride 09!

On this 28th of June 2009, Delhi will celebrate its second ever Queer Pride! Hundreds of queer people; lesbians, gay men, bisexual, transgender and intersexed people and their friends and families will come together to celebrate with pride, the dignity and rights of sexually marginalized people all across India and the world.

What is this "Queer"?

400 years ago, the word "queer" meant odd or unusual. 100 years ago the word was used as an insult for anyone who was different from society's norm of gender and sexually "correct" behaviour. It was used to demean and marginalize people. Today, people across the world have reclaimed that word to empower, celebrate and unite people of diverse genders and sexualities. With the rainbow as our symbol of beauty in diversity, we celebrate Queer Pride in solidarity with queer people across the world.

Queer Pride is about celebrating who we are, whether gay, kothi, lesbian, queen, dyke, transgender, bisexual, hijra, butch, panthi... whether manly looking women or men who sleep with men, whether sex worker or sex changer, Queer Pride affirms our diverse expressions and our everyday struggle for respect and dignity.

But why are we marching?

Today in India, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people face violence and discrimination from different quarters. Here are some examples of our daily oppression:

· Lesbians are subject to violence, forced into marriage and even driven to commit suicide by their families.

· Gay men are blackmailed by organized scandals that often involve the police.

· Hijras are routinely arrested and raped by the police.

· Same sex couples who have lived together for years cannot buy a house together or will their property to each other or even adopt a child as a couple if they wish.

· LGBTI people are constantly mocked, demeaned and denied their basic human rights of self-expression.

All this is happening because Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code treats LGBTI people as criminals. It has been used to arrest, prosecute, terrorize and blackmail sexual minorities. It has strengthened the already existing stereotypes, hatred and abuse in homes, schools, workplaces and streets, forcing millions of LGBTI people to live in fear and silence at tragic cost to themselves and their families. And yet, these lives go on. They go on as a struggle every single day.

It is essential that –

· Section 377 is duly read down in the Delhi High Court and this precedent replicated across the country.

· The government introduce specific legislation protecting queer people from discrimination on the basis of their gender and sexuality.

· Violence against LGBTI people by the police be addressed and severely reprehended.

· Discrimination and violence against LGBTI people in all spheres of life (family, workplace, educational institutions) be acknowledged and addressed.

· Positive efforts, such as the Aravani Welfare Board set up by the Tamil Nadu Government for the hijra community, are replicated in other parts of the country.

· All persons are able to exercise their right to live their lives with dignity and freedom, regardless of their gender and sexuality identities.

It is also important that –

· We celebrate the creation of small but significant spaces for queer people to express themselves as who they are among groups of friends, in organizations or in the public sphere as a whole.

· Celebrate each and every family, workplace and friend who have accepted their queer sisters, brothers, children, colleagues and friends for who they are.

· Celebrate the support from politicians and other significant public figures, such as writers, thinkers and artists from across India, for the struggle.

· Congratulate the untiring efforts of activists, lawyers, journalists, artists and all individuals across the country, who not only live their own lives as queer people, but fight for queer people everywhere.

· Celebrate individual victories, such as the life of Shabnam the politician in Madhya Pradesh, who is a hijra.

· Celebrate the positive response from some quarters of the media while we hope this becomes the overall trend.

On June 28^th, 2009 Queer people, friends and supporters in Delhi will join other cities across India to break this silence and splash the colours of our lives and the full rainbow spectrum of our diversity on the streets of Delhi.

Join us at 5:30 pm on Sunday, June 28th, 2009. The March will start at the corner of Barakhamba Road and Tolstoy Marg, continue along Tolstoy Marg and end at Jantar Mantar.

For more information about Delhi Queer Pride ‘09: delhiqueerpride.blogspot.com.

Contact: delhiqueerpride@gmail.com.