As the world gears up to celebrate the Pride month in June, one might wonder what it is and why do we celebrate it (since there's still a lot of stigmas and lack of awareness surrounding Pride).
Every year in June the world celebrates Pride month dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community and their right to live a dignified life. Pride is about people coming together, to show and celebrate how far gay rights have come and how much is still left to achieve.
Pride month is about equality, teaching acceptance, education in pride history and above all, love. During this month, we educate others and ourselves about how damaging homophobia is and why we need to get rid of it. It's about being proud of who you are no matter who you love.
The catalyst for Pride is actually a riot—the 1969 Stonewall Riots.
On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Uprising took place in New York City in USA. At the time, the NY police would frequently raid queer bars and harass the queer community. Back then, the American Constitution also had laws banning homosexuality.
One of the most popular gay bars, Greenwich Village’s Stonewall Inn was raided frequently too. However, on that particular day in June, all hell broke loose when the queer community fought back and protested hard for several days. This changed the world forever, for the better.
The following year, the first official Pride parade was carried out on the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, with Christopher Street Liberation Day and the tradition has continued till date.
Just like every year, Global Pride Day will be celebrated on June 28.
There are usually colourful parades, concerts and marches across the world. However, since the Covid-19 pandemic is still hovering around, many will celebrate it online.
From 1969 until now, LGBTQ folks and allies have been fighting hard to give the community the right to marry, that right to adopt children, to start families, to fight discrimination, hate speech, and hate crimes, and to simply allow queer folks to exist. While we acknowledge the progress we’ve made, we also need to be realistic and remember that we still have a long way to go.
Here's hoping that the world will soon accept love and lovers without discrimination. Happy Pride Month!
