4th Queer Pride to be held on Feb 5 in solidarity with LGBTQ

The Fourth Queer Pride, Guwahati was scheduled to be held on February five next with the organisers urging all progressive minded individuals to join and walk in solidarity with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community.
"We will march down the streets of Guwahati in celebration of the diversities of gender and sexuality and raise our voices in support of LGBTQ rights," a spokesperson of Xukia, the organisers of the Pride Walk told reporters here today.
The Pride Walk is a platform for progressive minded individuals to come together and raise "our voices against all forms of violence faced by LGBTQ people whether it is in their families, schools, colleges, work or public spaces'', the spokesperson added.

Despite growing awareness and support for LGBTQ individuals face violence and discrimination in many spheres of life and laws like Section 377, which criminalizes consensual sexual relationships between adults, have turned many from the community into potential criminals just because of who they are, he added.
''We resist all forms of censorship and policing of our lives, bodies and relationships and the idea that drives the Pride is that our bodies are our and that we will not bow down to laws and patriarchal norms that dictate how we should live or love'', the spokeperson said.
The organisers of the Pride Walk also demanded the repeal of inhuman laws like Section 377 and AFSPA along with condemning all forms of attacks on minorities and the marginalised.

''We stand in solidarity with various movements across the country, whether it be adivasis fighting against corporate greed, disabled peoples struggle to make all spaces more accessible to everyone or the movement for women to reclaim the public spaces'', he added.
Xukia is a collective formed with the vision of creating a more queer friendly Assam.