Gender and sexual minority community members, supporters participate in Rainbow festival

Members of the gender and sexual minority community and their supporters celebrated Rainbow Habba 2025 at the Students’ Christian Movement of India (SCMI) auditorium here on Saturday.

The celebration marked the 56th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

On June 28, 1969, gender and sexual minorities fought against police harassment and violence at the Stonewall Inn bar in New York City. The event sparked a global movement for gender and sexual minority rights. Since 2023, Sangama has been hosting the Rainbow Festival every year to commemorate the Stonewall Riots.

Around 200 people took part in the festival. On the occasion, mothers who accepted their transgender children or adopted transgender children were felicitated at the festival. Asha Imam Saab Naik Wadi, mother of Aina Sheikh (a gender minority woman) from Belagavi district, said, “Aina has been living in Pune for many years, and is now doing farming in Belagavi and helping other members of the community.”

Lakshmi, mother of Paru, who is another gender minority woman from Bengaluru, said, “My youngest son Paru used to act like a girl from a young age and even now Paru is the one who runs our house.” Siddappa Hukkeri from Belagavi, who has got a government job under the 1% reservation, was also felicitated.

Speaking at the event, Mahesh Babu, Managing Director of the Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation, emphasised the importance of developing public policies for the holistic development of gender and sexual minorities. 

Manohar Elavarthi, founder and executive director of Sangama, said, “At a time when our communities in the U.S., the birthplace of the Stonewall Riots, are losing hard-won rights, we should stay vigilant.”