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The first ‘Rainbow Pride Walk’ in New Delhi, India, took place June 29. Gay rights supporters held marches in Calcutta, Bangalore and New Delhi. (Photo by Mustafa Quraishi/AP)
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HOME > COMMUNITY > PRIDE
By: STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
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NEW DELHI (AP) — Men wore sparkling saris, women wore rainbow boas and hundreds of people chanted for gay rights in three Indian cities Sunday in the largest display of gay pride in the deeply conservative country where homosexual acts are illegal.
Gay rights supporters took to the streets of Calcutta, Bangalore and New Delhi to call for an end to discrimination and push for acceptance in a society where intolerance is widespread.
“This is a national coming-out party,” said Alok Gupta, a lawyer from Mumbai, as he stood among several hundred activists in New Delhi. “This is a simple thing: We are seeking the right to love.”
While small groups have marched in the eastern city of Calcutta in recent years, Sunday’s events were the first gay Pride parades in Bangalore and New Delhi. Several hundred people turned out at each of the three events.
The marches came days before the Delhi High Court is expected to hear arguments on overturning a law against homosexual sex that dates to the British colonial era. The law, which forbids sexual acts “against the order of nature,” carries punishment of up to 10 years in prison.
The law is rarely enforced, but activists say it sanctions discrimination.
“Discrimination is widespread because there is no protection or law or societal understanding,” said Lesley Esteves, 32, a gay rights activist who helped organize the New Delhi parade. ‘There’s discrimination in the workplace; there’s discrimination in the family — it’s on every level.”
Despite the festive mood Sunday, fear of discrimination was evident among the crowds in New Delhi. Many of the marchers wore rainbow-colored masks so their friends and families wouldn’t know they were gay. Many others declined to speak to journalists.
PARIS (AP) — Gay soccer players, police officers and bus drivers joined masses of people waving rainbow flags as they marched through Paris and protested anti-gay discrimination in schools.
More than half a million people celebrated in the streets. The marchers were dancing along the parade route June 28 to a soundtrack of disco mixes, choral music and accordion tunes.
The annual event is one of Europe’s biggest gay pride parades.
This year’s event is focused on fighting discrimination against gay teachers and students. Organizers say they are protesting racism, sexism and xenophobia in schools, too.
Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, along with Arab, Jewish and Asian gay groups, was also among those participating in Saturday’s procession.
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Extremists throwing rocks, bottles and gasoline bombs attacked the Bulgarian capital’s first gay pride parade.
Police say they prevented the extremists from harming the 150 or so people in the June 28 procession through Sofia. No serious injuries have been reported.
A group of extremists attacked the first gay parade in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, but a massive police presence prevented violence. (Photo by AP) |
Police say they detained about 60 people for harassing the parade participants. The march was moved by from a downtown area of the capital, Sofia, to a remote park after municipal authorities cited security concerns.
Gays face widespread hostility in Bulgaria, despite a 2003 anti-discrimination law, and opposition to Saturday’s parade was fierce. The far-right Bulgarian National Union had called for “open resistance” to the gay Pride parade with a campaign featuring posters that say: “Be Intolerant, Be Normal.”
Bulgaria’s influential Orthodox Church said the march should be banned as it undermines the country’s Christian traditions. “Bulgarian society needs healthy, strong and moral individuals to build new life on the indestructible foundation of faith, prayer, repentance, honor, Christian culture and morals,” a statement said.
JERUSALEM (AP) — About 3,000 gay people and their supporters marched through Jerusalem June 26 in the annual Gay Pride parade. The march was followed by a rally, both proceeding without incident.
Police said they had about 2,000 officers on duty to protect the marchers from protesters.
Past marches have been marred by violent demonstrations by ultra-Orthodox Jews, but there were only small-scale protests on June 26 away from the march route. Police said one protester was arrested.
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