The LGBTQIA+ community took out the 2023 Queer Pride Parade in Delhi on Sunday, 26 November. The march began at Barakhamba and concluded at Jantar Mantar.
"It's important to be part of the Pride Parade because we get no support – neither from society nor from our families," 18-year-old Abid (he/him), a fashion designer based out of Delhi, tells The Quint.
Dancing to drums and music, the participants walked for more than three hours to Jantar Mantar, holding banners reading “Equality for all” and “Queer and proud" slogans.
The Delhi Queer Pride Parade, which had over 1,000 participants, comes just over a month after the Supreme Court denied legal recognition to same-sex marriages in India.
'My First Pride'
Speaking to The Quint, 19-year-old Sumit Kumar from Uttar Pradesh said, "This is my first time at a Pride march but I have heard a lot about this. My family doesn't support all of this. But I want to tell the world that I want to be here."
This is the first Indian Pride march that Aayush (they/them) is attending. "I absolutely love the Indian Pride. I have been to a lot of Pride marches in the US. This is my first Indian Pride and I love the acceptance level. I am happy about that," they said. They're a fashion designer based out of the United States.
Vikram, who is the parent of a queer person, is also attending his first Pride march. "I am here to support queer people, my son is queer. I am here to support him. The more the number of people here, the more the administration knows that this is an important movement that so many people are supporting. Parents should support their children no matter who they are," he tells The Quint.
The parade first took place in 2008, when a few hundred people gathered. Over the years, it metamorphosed into a massive celebration for queer people in the city. The annual parade came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but was resumed in January 2023.
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