Mothers with their kids, trans dhol tasha pathak mark Pune pride march
For Pune's LGBTAQ community, this was the first Pride organised after issues like companies withdrawing their diversity, equality and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and scrapping funding have affected the community. This was also the first time that the Pride was organised by a collective of organisations. MIST LGBTQ Trust, Manthan Foundation, Jeevika, Pune Queer Sports Club, Qutcast Shikhandi – the transgender dhol tasha Pathak, NHRD and Muktaaa Charitable Foundation joined hands to organise the pride.
Apart from members of the community, several allies — including mothers with their children — walked at the pride this year. A mother, who brought both her children said she decided to bring them to the march to sensitise them about the community. 'Across social media, we have seen a lot of hateful content against the community. The pride parade is the best exposure they can get to break their misconceptions. First hand information is always better,' she said. Suraj Raut, director of MIST Foundation, brought his young nephew to the march. Raut, said the nephew wanted to come for the Pride after he saw pictures of Thane Pride which was held on Saturday. 'He had a good time and even made a poster for me,' he said.
Shikhandi — the dhol tasha Pathak — was the highlight of the march.
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