City’s LGBT community celebrates SC verdict with free hugs

If you happened to pass by the People’s Plaza stretch on Necklace Road on Sunday evening, we are sure you must have noticed members of the Hyderabad LGBTQIA community lined-up along the road brandishing placards with slogans such as ‘Acche din aa gaye hain!’,’I am bisexual, will you hug me?’ and ‘Love has no gender, hug me’, among others. Rejoicing the recent Supreme Court verdict that decriminalised homosexuality, about 50 members of the community participated in a ‘Queer Hug’ campaign with an aim to sensitise people and assert their identity.The campaign, that went on for three hours, saw passers-by stopping by and offering hugs to them.

The do received an overwhelming response from the crowd as allies and people from all walks of life joined the members of the community and stood alongside them. “I have done gender studies and I know how tough the fight had been for the community. I was holding a placard that said ‘All bisexual hug me!’. A few guys came and said that they wanted to hug me but later refrained after reading the placard. They said, ‘we need time to accept this,” said Shriya, one of the allies and a volunteer of Mobbera Foundation that organised the do.

When asked how far an event like Queer Hug will go in sensitising the people, Vinay Borgamkar, a member of the LGBTQIA community, said, “Many straight people think that hanging out with us will affect their sexuality. The main idea behind queer hugs is to tell people that it is not so. A hug will not do any harm to you.”The members stressed that, in the coming weeks, they will organise many such events to spread awareness about the issue.