Freed from shackles, they proclaim ‘pride for all’

Thiruvananthapuram: On Sunday, Manaveeyam Veedhi, the cultural corridor of the state capital, witnessed the first queer

pride walk

after decriminalization of Section 377 of the

Indian Penal Code

. The pride walk was flagged off by Kunnukuzhi ward councellor I P Binu at 5pm.

Shouting the slogan ‘pride for all’ and waving the rainbow flags, vibrant balloons, placards and banners, around 500 people including members from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (

LGBTQ

) community, their families and many ardent supporters across the state joined the queer pride walk which was held from University College Junction to Manaveeyam Veedhi.

The second edition of pride walk and queer cultural fest held under the aegis of

Queerythm

, a community based organization working from the rights of gender and sexual minorities, has observed green protocol.

According to Prijith P K, president of Queerythm, the walk is a celebration of their identity.

“It is a very important day since it is our first pride walk after we got free from the shackles of Section 377 of

IPC

. The theme for this year is ‘let’s walk for equality’, which aims to give hopes to the members of LGBTIQ community, and to create awareness about lives of members of the community. Public should not discriminate the community. To make this year’s walk unique we have strictly followed the green protocol. We have switched to eco-friendly items such as paper flags attached by sticks, paper posters and placards and banners made up of clothes,” Prijith said.

Several individuals, empowered by the apex court’s historical verdict, came out for pride walk for the first time. Anand Rajan (25) who came out for pride walk for the first time said his main aim was to spread the message of love, equality and compassion.

“It is the first time I am coming out and participating in the programme. The verdict has empowered me by giving courage to reveal who I am and what I am. It will be difficult for my family to accept this if they come to know about my identity. But I had to come forward and there will be nothing like it if I could inspire at least one person who fears social stigmas,” said Anand, an IT professional based in Bengaluru who has revealed himself as gay recently.