THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPM leader V.S. Achuthanandan will inaugurate the Queer Cultural Fest of transgenders and other sexual- gender minorities as part of the seventh Queer Pride Event here on Sunday. The festival, jointly organised by Manave-eyam Theruvorakoottam, Queer Pride Keralam and Oasis Cultural Society will be held at Manaveeyam Veedhi at 5 pm. The organisers say it is the curtain raiser of the major Queer Pride Event.
Transgender dance, music, fashion show and exhibition will be held as part of the festival. The event is being projected as the celebration of sexual diversity in the state. The Queer Pride Event has been taking place in Kerala for the past seven years to commemorate and celebrate sexual diversity which has been rejected by societal norms.
Queer Pride Keralam, which is one of the major organisers of the event, is a political organisation working in support of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Intersex (LGBTI) community and providing them a platform. The organisation is focussing on their problems and trying to address them systematically.
Besides, it is also trying to give them visibility in the state. The first edition of Queer Pride Event was held in July 2010 and since then these organisations have been holding the programme regularly. The next Queer Pride Event is scheduled to be held in Kozhikode on August 12.
The people who choose their sexuality against society’s set norms and conditions often face serious discrimination. One of the main objectives of Queer Pride Keralam in organising the event is to drum up support for bringing in amendment to Article 377 and to emphasise that it is an individual’s right to choose one’s own sexuality.
