Pride march all set to make debut in Thane; breaks new ground

There is pride in every stride, pep in every ‘love is love’ step, as the Thane Pride Festival (TPF) — an umbrella body working towards queer awareness in the district — announced a first-ever LGBTQ+ Pride March in Thane, to be held tomorrow. The route is from Nitin Company Junction to Talao Pali in Thane. Thanekars may brace for a surprise on Saturday evening as the two-and-a-half-hour event begins at 4.30 in the evening and goes on till 7 pm.

Right to ‘space’

Nakshatra Bagwe, founder, TPF, said, “We have all police permissions and promised protection, too, from the cops. The march should firstly, spread awareness about something as basic as the queer community’s existence and then, rights. The community has as much a right to public space as anybody else.”

Nakshatra asserted that these rights, besides physical space, include the right to marry and adopt children. “This is a platform to highlight that the community also faces blackmailing, financial exploitation, physical harm, discrimination and rape. Marches like this go beyond the symbolic. We want to empower the community with the courage to speak up and demand justice.” Nakshatra also said that a Pride March in Thane “would show that it is not just South Mumbai that may have some awareness about the community or be inclusive.”

Historic event

Nakshatra, Jay Kommana and Shrey, who are spearheading this march stated, “This is literally about breaking new ground. There was a historic first-ever Vasai Pride in 2023. We had a first-ever Pride march of the Palghar district and the first Pride of Virar in 2024.”

Kommana added, “Though South Mumbai has a Pride march, there are many from the community who find it difficult to access. It is also important that visibility and awareness reach other areas.” Kommana explained, “We are all ready to go. The march is as much about highlighting problems as it is about celebration. While we have anxiety, we have our allies too. Like, a college in Thane recently gave us a classroom in which the community could sit in and make posters for the Thane Pride parade. It was such a fun time for everybody to come together, people power and poster power… raring to go.”

Representation

Sweekar — the Rainbow Parents’ which is a support group of parents with LGBTQ children — are also one of the community partners of this event. Rainbows incidentally, as a symbol of the LGBTQ+ community, as the different colours signify diversity.

Said Aruna Desai, co-founder Sweekar, “The parade must move to different areas, as it means representation for the community and visibility. We are also certain that parents of LGBTQ+ children will be inspired to join our support group in the near future, seeing us marching in Thane. They may even become the movement’s biggest cheerleaders one day, flying the LGBTQ+ flag with pride,” she said.

The team rounded off, stating the time was apt. “This comes on the eve of June 1 and June is pride month,” they said,” and added, “we pray for rainbows, not too much rain that evening.”