THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The third edition of the Manaveeyam Queer Fest, which was a curtain-raiser to Kerala’s pride march, was held at Manaveeyam Veedhi on Sunday.
The fete kicked off with a ‘Queer Pride’ march from Asan Square to Maaveeyam Veedhi. The rally was flagged off by Mayor V K Prasanth. A cultural meeting was inaugurated by Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran and a fashion show titled ‘Mx. Manaveeyam 2018’ was conducted for transgenders. The chief guest of the event was ‘Soorya’ Krishnamoorthy.
The event comes at a time when almost all sexual and gender minorities rights activists observe changes in what was mostly a heteronormative society. “Pushing the centre to decriminalise IPC 377 is the main motive of the fest,” said Sreekutty Namitha, the chief patron of Oasis Cultural Society.
In this event, they will also be honouring people who are part of the queer movement, especially in the area of the LGBTIQ rights, from across the state and those who supported the Oasis Cultural Society. Cultural programmes staged by the members will also be conducted.