Vadodara: Pride Month is celebrated in June when people of all sexual orientations participate in parades to display their orientation. From dressing up in colourful attire to dancing to the tunes of Bollywood dance numbers, Vadodara’s Pride Rally was an excellent opportunity for the LGBTQ+ community to come forward and reach out to a larger section of society. Despite education and awareness, society is hesitant to accept people with different sexual orientations. However, with these events, they also proudly present themselves in front of society without any hesitation.
Due to this, Vadodara’s Pride Rally was organized by Lakshya Trust, an organization working for the LGBTQ+ community. In which a large number of people from the LGBTQ+ community participated. Manvendra Singh Gohil, the founder of Lakshya Trust, was also present during the rally.
He demanded to give equal rights to the community. He said,
We are citizens of this country and should be given equal rights like others. We have to face many issues. We get fired. We are kicked out of the house. It is tough for us to get an education. In terms of health also somewhere we are not equally treated. So, we want our rights.
Also Read: Same Sex Marriage: High Time India Should Legalise It, Say Activists
Pride Month honours all individuals who took part in the Stonewall Riots, a string of gay liberation demonstrations that took place in 1969. On June 28, 1969, police invaded the well-known bar The Stonewall Inn in New York City. The Stonewall riots lasted for days and started a protracted battle for the rights of the LGTBQ community. The discussion surrounding Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which sparked rallies across the nation, is linked to Pride Month in India.
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NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health,adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
