Pride Month: Empowering Diversity And Rights

Pride Month is historically celebrated throughout the month of June each year in commemoration of its roots in the Stonewall Riots of June 1969. This celebration broadly aims to appreciate historical, social, cultural, and political contributions made by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) people worldwide. The enormous celebrations of pride events offer significant opportunities to recognise incredible stories and social resilience within communities. 

Interestingly, a rainbow flag is a symbol of Pride Month, and more importantly, the rainbow of humanities signifies all genders and races. Following World War II, the empowered voices of LGBTIQ people were instrumental in demanding recognition for and protesting discrimination against them. 

While they historically face oppression, social exclusion, stigma, and discrimination in societies, the pride events are considered vital protests to make their voices heard by telling personal stories of adversity and collective victories in the fight for equality, human rights, and diversity. In essence, their supporters and allies spotlight their voices and call for greater unity, visibility, and solidarity for inclusive and gender-responsive societies. 

Aside from biological characteristics, gender is socio-culturally constructed, and that subsequently shapes social identities. The complexities of gender identities and social inequalities arise from gendered expectations. Social hierarchies and cultural norms perpetuate gender inequality. The structures of power, gender, and sexuality have paved the way for a more inclusive understanding of human diversity for social transformation in and across societies. 

In an increasingly interconnected but diverse world, growing issues of social inclusion, gender equality, and diversity must be on the priority agenda of national governments, development partners, civil society, the business sector, academia, and the media to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

In Nepal, the first ever pride parade was held in 2019. The queer folks, networks of trans and other minorities such as Blue Diamond Society (BDS), Queer Youth Group (QYG), and a few other civil society networks have been active in convening the Pride events together to raise public awareness for visibility and solidarity. 

“Pride Month is a global social movement that inspires and harnesses the collective power of LGBTQI to address gender inequality, oppression, and social injustice across generations. This offers a unique opportunity where LGBTIQ people demonstrate their diverse gender identity, unity, and social solidarity,” remarks Pinky Gurung, president of BDS. 

Over the years, BDS and their networks have been proactively advocating for their human rights, gender identity, positionality, and social well-being in the communities. “The celebration of pride events clearly demonstrates collective social identity, unity, and solidarity among LGBTIQ people and their networks at the grass-roots,” says Suman, an advocacy officer at BDS. 

In this context, the social advocacy campaigns of Pride Month have been instrumental in creating an enabling environment for LGBTIQ people and their networks to remain at the forefront and voice their demands for wider acceptance, respect for gender identities, and rights. “Pride events not only raise public awareness about sexual and gender minorities but also co-create socio-political space for their effective representation and respectful engagement in everyday life,” says Simron Sherchan at the Federation of Sexual and Gender Minorities, Nepal (FSGMN).

At the country level, there has been remarkable progress in the socio-legal environment for LGBTIQ people. Nepal’s Constitution of 2015 has recognised the rights of LGBTIQ people and explicitly prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. Moreover, the Constitution has guaranteed the right to privacy, freedom of expression, and the right to live with dignity. Similarly, Nepal’s Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in 2007 to recognise and appreciate the legal rights of LGBTIQ people. 

However, due to a lack of inclusive workplace policies, queer communities are most often abused and harassed, which further worsens their marginalisation and social resilience. They not only suffer from physical, emotional, and sexual violence, but also face significant barriers to accessing education and health services. They feel less psychologically safe in the workplace, impacting productivity, social wellbeing, and inclusion. 

Shaped by the feminist movement, same-sex and transgender practices have formed public identities, and the global movement is calling for acceptance, equality, and legal recognition of their relationships. Obviously, gender and sexuality are not only socio-legal issues but are cultural issues across generations. Therefore, social interventions need to create more flexibilities in the expression of gender and sexuality to reduce the differential effects on LGBTIQ people and their communities. Due to varied sexual orientations and gender identities, no one should be discriminated against and left behind in the mainstream socio-political and development processes. 

On the other hand, universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services should be one of the key strategic interventions to address the emerging health care needs of 

LGBTIQ people. They are often vulnerable to physical violence, mental health issues, and other risks, such as HIV infections. During disasters or pandemics, they are particularly vulnerable to accessing psychosocial support, health care services, and social security. 

Despite the provision of targeted health and HIV prevention interventions with the support of development partners, it is necessary to orient health care providers so that they treat LGBTIQ people with dignity and respect. In the federal context, effective implementation of inclusive local health policies and strategies must ensure their sexual and reproductive health rights. 

In the era of globalisation, migration, capitalist markets, and neoliberal economies, the pride events proactively call for a whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach to translate legal protection, socio-political, and human rights commitments into concrete actions at all levels. 

In an ever-evolving world of diverse identities, human actions surrounding language, behaviour, and attitudes are crucial to ensuring an inclusive environment. 

While it is becoming more crucial than ever to ensure inclusivity efforts are intersectional, the social campaigns of LGBTIQ people particularly highlight some of the crucial issues surrounding the realities of their livelihoods and the injustice, stigma, and discrimination experienced by intersectional identities within communities. As we navigate the complexities of our modern world, the politics of gender and social inclusion become more profound in the context of evolving civilisations in human history. 

(Bhandari is a health policy analyst and has an interest in anthropology.)