We marched and it was fantastic

We had a fantastic March from August Kranti Maidan to Chowpatty. Estimates suggest 1500-3000 LGBT people and friends/family came for QAM 2009, making it the largest Pride march in India and definitely the most inclusive across the whole beautiful, wide-ranging LGBT community. Thank you to everyone who turned up and raised their voices along with us, and to those who couldn’t make it but were with us in spirit. The media coverage page of this blog, which features news reports/photos/videos, is being updated continously–please add it to your feed/favourites/watch list.  Queer Azaadi Zindabad.

 

We are marching – II

Hi everyone, lots of calls have been coming about whether the QAM event is on for this Sunday, 16th August, thanks to the swine flu. Well, we’re happy we can say – the Queer Azaadi March is ON!

It’s become increasingly clear over the last day or so that the swine flu hysteria has become far worse than the risk posed by the disease itself and we are not going to be party to that – not least when we have before us an issue as important as our fight to uphold the Delhi High Court decision.

We’re not going to be reckless. We will be providing face masks – both for the eyes (for identity) and for the mouth (for hygiene). Also, remember that in the open there’s not much to fear with respect to swine flu.

We are also happy to be able to say that the police have assured us of full support in doing the march. We will have to assemble outside August Kranti Maidan at 3 pm on Sunday and set off from there.

 

We Are Marching on 16 August

After some thoughtful discussions, we are completely in agreement that the Queer Azaadi March will happen  as planned, in full glory. We took this decision with a deep belief in our collective and individual responsibility for your health and our health, and faith in your sense of responsibility to our health and your health. It is important to remember that the March is in an open and outside environment, not in an enclosed environment, especially one with recirculated air. No outside events have been cancelled.

It has been recommended by the medical community that any immuno-compromised persons,  elderly persons, and people already ill with active health complications such as diabetes should avoid crowded gatherings. We are in agreement with these recommendations and believe that people will and should follow them.

People with fever, coughs, colds, difficulty breathing or manifesting any of the symptoms of swine flu are encouraged to stay home and take care of their health. They will be there in spirit and we can all march together next year. Send a friend instead holding a placard with your name.

Like last year, there will be many people in masks. Bright colourful, sparkly, fanciful, feathered, beautiful masks. Any people sporting swine flu preventative masks or bandannas will fit right in so you are invited to wear them. Whether worn to protect yourself from a virus or from homophobia, all masks are welcome. Both types of masks  will be distributed free in limited numbers, so also plan to bring your own.

Please do join us in this celebration of ourselves as we are and in our demands for

* The 377 case will now be heard in the Supreme Court, hence our demand for this law be read down continues.

* The Constitution must include provisions to deal with all discrimination on the grounds of sexuality or gender.

*Those amongst us who are transgendered are not recognised by society. Equal citizenship rights and opportunities should be extended to all who do not fit into either of the two categories of male and female.

* The medical establishment must be made aware of the reality of our lives and our needs, and cease all insensitive and cruel attempts to ‘cure’ us.

* Every individual is under tremendous pressure to marry a person of the opposite sex, as marriage is seen as a must in our society. We are launching a campaign against all such forced marriages.

* We call for an end to homophobia and transphobia. We want freedom from violence and hate within families, in educational institutions, at places of work and in public spaces. We especially demand that fundamentalist forces stop abusing us and poisoning people’s minds against us.

We invite you, too, to join us on our march and to raise your voice along with ours!

—Queer Azadi Mumbai

 

Poster and Placard Making Events for the March

There are two poster and placard making events coming up. Come, have fun, and make one with your own message!

Friday, 14 August, at Humsafar Trust, Vakola, from 6PM to 9PM

This is the second poster making event being held by Humsafar for the March. The first one was lots of fun. Don’t miss out!

Address:

Municipal Transit Building, 4th Fl.

Nehru Rd, Vakola, Santa Cruz East

Phone: 2667-3800

Saturday 15 August LABIA is having poster placard making at Awaaz-e-Niswaan at 2:00pm – 7pm

Everyone, especially women, come for a riotous and hard-working poster making and song singing practice session.

Address:

7/1, Sarabhai HassanAli Roopwala Bldg, 1st floor,

Moreshwar Patankar Marg (Pipe Line Road) पाइप लईन रो़ड़
Kurla West, Mumbai – 400070 (26523402)

When you come out of Kurla station, take the first right lane adjoining the Police Station. It’s a crowded lane. After walking a few min and crossing the Moreshwar Patankar School, it’s a white building on your right. You can see the board of Awaaz-e-Niswan. Entrance is next to a medical store.
Also accessible by all buses coming to Kurla Station कुर्ला स्थानक के लिये सारे बस जो आते हैं.

 

Central Railways outstation trains terminating at Dadar on 16 August

All of you coming from out of town, thinking your train will arrive at VT, will be in for a surprise. It will terminate at Dadar. This is due to giant megablock work at Masjid station.

The best option from Dadar is to get on a Western line Local heading toward Churchgate and get off at the next stop which is Grant Rd. Station. Take exit on west. August Kranti is a quick 5 minute walk from there.

For those who want to take a bus from Dadar, from Dadar TT side, buses 92/85/305 go to Nana Chowk. But Nana Chowk is almost Grant Rd station anyway so walk to August Kranti Maidan will be almost the same. Taking train will be much faster.

 

Queer Azaadi March Annoucement

Were you part of the Queer Azadi March (QAM) last year and want to take part again this year? Or will this be your first time? Well, now its almost time! In less than 10 days for the second QAM which will take place on Sunday 16th August !

All police permissions are in. The march will take place from 3 to 6 pm. Like last year we will start from August Kranti Maidan at Gowalia Tank, from where Gandhi gave his call for the British to Quit India, and we will march through Nana Chowk to Opera House and to Girgaum Chowpatty – but where last year’s march ended there, many organisers felt this was too short for all the enthusiasm, so we sought and were granted permissions to march back to August Kranti Maidan via Hughes Rd – Westside – Gamdevi Police St. Final confirmed route will be posted.

Plans for the march are in full swing! Thanks to the efforts of groups like Humsafar there will be an exceptional level of participation from community organisations. And thanks to the success of last year’s march, and the enthusiasm created by the Delhi High Court verdict, a lot of people are coming for the march from other parts of India and even abroad. Celebrities like Celina Jaitley and Milind Soman will probably be there. Its going to be a blast!

But while we hope everyone has fun, there is also a serious reason for marching. We have won a big victory in the Delhi High Court, but it is being fiercely challenged in the Supreme Court. We need to call with all our effort on the honourable judges of the Supreme Court and the government to respect the verdict of the Delhi High Court and to let freedom stand for the queer community across India. Last year’s march was to call for azaadi, this year’s march is for it to stay.

So please start making your plans to be there. We’re also very happy to get offers for help, so let us know if there’s anything you’d like to do. In the next few days groups will be organising preparatory events. GB’s meeting this coming Sunday, 9/9 will be on Planning for Pride. The Humsafar centre will be hosting three days of poster making on 7th, 9th and 14th August (details below) and the LABIA group will be having a poster-making session on 15th August at the Awaaz-e-Niswaan offices in Kurla West where we have been having our meetings. Address and directions in meeting announcement posts below. You are welcome to take part in any or all of these!

Apart from these events there are also lots of other ways you can get involved. For example, you could help just by persuading friends and relatives to come – we are VERY keen on extending this march beyond just the queer community to show that this is a human rights issue for all. Or by offering to host some of the many people who will be coming for the march. You can also get involved in making posters and banners. The march will welcome individual initiatives (as long as one respects the overall march) so please feel free to get creative.

Despite the Delhi High Court victory we do realise that many people will still be wary of marching openly. We respect these concerns and have accomodated them, like last year, by making lovely, colourful masks available for free at the venue (just come a bit early to make sure you get one). Apart from this there’s the fact that, as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, we have deliberately broadbased the march to make one not just for queer people, but for anyone interested in basic human rights issues.

A lot of mainstream supporters will be coming, so if it is a concern, please be assured that being seen at the march will not necessarily label you as queer – but it might label you as someone who believes in human rights for all!

See you at the march!

 

The next planning meeting for the QAM 2009

The next planning meeting for the QAM 2009 will be:

Date: Sunday 8 August 2009

Time: 6:30pm

Venue: Awaan-e-Niswaan

7/1, Sarabhai HassanAli Roopwala Bldg, 1st floor,

Moreshwar Patankar Marg (Pipe Line Road) पाइप लईन रो़ड़
Kurla West, Mumbai – 400070 (26523402)

When you come out of Kurla station, take the first right lane adjoining the Police Station. Its a crowded lane. After walking a few min and crossing the Moreshwar Patankar School, its a white building on your right. You can see the board of Awaaz-e-Niswan. Entrance is next to a medical store.
Also accessible by all buses coming to Kurla Station कुर्ला स्थानक के लिये सारे बस जो आते हैं.
Minutes of last meeting (18 July 2009) click here ->Minutes of 2 Aug QAM meeting

We are getting down to the wire and will be finalising details about pre-March, the March itself, and post-March. All LGBTI identified people and organisations please come. All are welcome.

 

Next Meeting – Sunday 2 August 4PM Awaaz-e-Niswaan, Kurla W

The next planning meeting for the QAM 2009 will be:

Date: Sunday 2 August 2009

Time: 4:00

Venue: Awaan-e-Niswaan

7/1, Sarabhai HassanAli Roopwala Bldg, 1st floor,

Moreshwar Patankar Marg (Pipe Line Road) पाइप लईन रो़ड़
Kurla West, Mumbai – 400070 (26523402)

When you come out of Kurla station, take the first right lane adjoining the Police Station. Its a crowded lane. After walking a few min and crossing the Moreshwar Patankar School, its a white building on your right. You can see the board of Awaaz-e-Niswan. Entrance is next to a medical store.
Also accessible by all buses coming to Kurla Station कुर्ला स्थानक के लिये सारे बस जो आते हैं.
Minutes of last meeting (18 July 2009) click here -> Minutes of the QAM meeting 25th July 2009

All LGBTI-identified individuals and organisations are welcome and encouraged to attend. August is here! For all of you who saw Subuhi’s film at the screening last night I’m sure you are feeling the glow and are full of energy. So see you at the meeting. (and see you tonight at Dancing Queens)

 

Fund-raising event: ‘Dancing Queens’ on Saturday, 1 August 2009

Kinnar Kasturi

in association with

Humsafar Trust

presents

‘DANCING QUEENS’

(Glimpses of Bollywood’s dancing divas)

‘Dancing Queens’ is a performance by drag queens of aamchi Mumbai. They will walk you through some of best Hindi film dance numbers filmed on Bollywood divas.

The proceeds of the event will be used to (partly) meet expenses of the Queer Azaadi March to be held on 16 August 2009.

Come and encourage the dancing divas.

Venue and time details of ‘Dancing Queens’: 1 August 2009 at 6 p.m. at Kherwadi Social Welfare Community Center (Parishram Bhawan), Near Nirmal Nagar Police Station, Kherwadi, Bandra (East), Mumbai.

Nearest station: Bandra.

Location map for Nirmal Nagar Police Stn: http://tinyurl.com/NirmalNgrYahoo

Tickets are available at:

Humsafar Trust : (Manisha / Girish) Ph: (022) 26650547 / 26673800

Humsafar CEFE: (Dyaneshwar Raut) Ph: (022) 65760357

Update: Some pics of the event can be seen here: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/abhijit.aher/DancingQueenEvent#

 

Next Meeting – 25 July at 6:30pm at Awaaz-e-Niswaan, Kurla (W)

The next planning meeting for the QAM 2009 will be:

Date: Saturday 25, July 2009

Time: 6:30

Venue: Awaan-e-Niswaan

7/1, Sarabhai HassanAli Roopwala Bldg, 1st floor,

Moreshwar Patankar Marg (Pipe Line Road) पाइप लईन रो़ड़

Kurla West, Mumbai – 400070 (26523402)

When you come out of Kurla station, take the first right lane adjoining the Police Station. Its a crowded lane. After walking a few min and crossing the Moreshwar Patankar School, its a white building on your right. You can see the board of Awaaz-e-Niswan. Entrance is next to a medical store.

Also accessible by all buses coming to Kurla Station कुर्ला स्थानक के लिये सारे बस जो आते हैं.

Minutes of last meeting (18 July 2009) click here -> minutes of 18 july 2009 meeting

All LGBTI-identified individuals and organisations are welcome and encouraged to attend.