LGBTQ group organises Rainbow pride walk in Kolkata to protest NRC and CAA
Kolkata/IBNS: The streets of Kolkata on Sunday were filled with seven colours, as the members of the LGBTQIHK+ community under the banner of Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk marched their way through the city protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, and the proposed National Register of Citizenship (NRC).
Making a political statement, representatives of these communities and their allies in and around Kolkata were seen in bright apparels with badges, waistbands, flags and posters reading " Reform, don't blindly conform", " Queer right is human right", "No NRC", " No CAA" as they marched from MD Ali Park to Bagbazar in north central Kolkata.
"We are not only celebrating our identity but also protesting for the rights of all the people who are being oppressed right now. This pride walk symbolizes, the inclusion of various issues and showcases our active responsible citizenship," said Souvik Ghosh, a volunteer of the Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk.
Slogans such as "Hindu Muslim Janina NRC, manina" (We do not care about Hindu-Muslim divide, we reject NRC), " CAA CAA chee chee", "Sex work is work ", were heard amid the din of the traffic.
While the slogans were all political and on burning national issues in the walk, whether there is any political party behind the walk is not known yet.
"While the striking down of section 377 for consenting adults is a welcome step, the LGBTQIHK+ communities have faced mounting discrimination through anti-queer legislation such as the Surrogacy Bill, the now lapsed Anti-trafficking bill and the Transgender ( Protection of Rights) Act 2019. There has been a rising tide of brutal violence against trans persons. The Trans Act murders gender justice by not addressing this violence adequately, but rather perpetuating it by ignoring our collective voices and demands regarding our own lived experiences and realities," the organizers said in a statement.
The amendment of the Trans Act to include all the demands of trans and gender non conforming persons, in accordance with the spirit of National Legal Services Authority of India (NALSA) verdict, was one of the demands of the walk.
(Reporting by Natasha Sethia, Images and Video Avishek Mitra)
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