Kolkata, Hundreds of members of sexually marginalised communities accompanied by family and friends, marched through the streets of Kolkata flaunting vivid costumes on Sunday railing against a proposed National Register of Citizens and the new citizenship law CAA.
Displaying posters reading “No NRC”, “No CAA”, “No to Fascism”, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, queer, intersex, hijra, kothi as also those with various other identities LGBTQIAHK+) participated in the annual Rainbow Pride Walk from central Kolkata’s Muhammad Ali Park to Bagbazar Sarbojonin grounds in the northern part of the city.
Representatives of these communities and their allies in and around Kolkata took part in the march, both to celebrate their diverse identities, and to protest against the atrocities and violence faced by them.
Some of them carried a huge tri-colour on the occasion, bitterly complaining that the NRC in Assam has made people including countless trans persons stateless, followed by state repression to quell protests against the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act).
“Gendered violence has skyrocketed with no justice in sight. In this rising tide of authoritarianism, the rights of the oppressed are being rapidly eroded and dissent is being suppressed,” the organisers said in a statement.
Demanding amendment to the Transgender (Protection of Rights) Act 2019, calling it an anti-queer legislation, they called for including all demands of trans and gender non-conforming persons.
They also sought affirmations of their right to self-determination of gender identity and civil rights like domestic partnerships, marriage and adoption and steps for bringing down structural barriers to entry in the workplace and rampant discrimination against trans persons and gender non conforming persons Ain the workplace by the government and private sector.
“We fall at the crossroads of multiple identities, and all these measures taken by the government affect us adversely in different ways. In such a case, none of us, Queer or not, are safe. These issues are all queer issues,” the statement said.
