BENGALURU: The history of the LGBTQIA community, their struggles, and the conversations that need to happen today, have been brought to light in a new video, which was released on Sunday as part of the Pride Month celebrations. The video contains spoken word poetry, and features popular drag queen Zeeshan Ali, who is also an LGBT+ activist. Titled
#noprideinprejudice, the 5-minute video features a poem penned by Prerna Talukdar. It has been brought out by GiveIndia, a city-based non-profit organisation that works as an online donation platform.
“I could emotionally connect to the poem,” Ali said, adding that the words try to communicate with people who are isolated due to their gender identity and assures them space and support in community. “What attracted me towards this project is that it focuses on raising awareness about gender equality among rural communities. In cities, many changes can be seen, but
in villages, the opposition is stronger and many people don’t even know that the queer community exists out there,” he added.
The video has been released on the social media handles of GiveIndia. Speaking about the initiative, Priyanka Prakash, head of marketing, GiveIndia, said, “We are looking forward to create an inclusive giving space. The video is a conversation starter, which aims to empower and mainstream the LGBTQIA+ community. Post the Section 377 verdict, while the metros have taken steps towards this goal, the focus also has to percolate to the rural areas.” She also added that they hope to raise `25 lakh through a fund-raising initiative, which will be contributed to a fellowship called Queer Youth Leadership Course.