Itanagar: AP Queer Station conducts 3rd Queer Community Meet-up
ITANAGAR- AP Queer Station conducted its ‘3rd queer community meet-up’ on Saturday at the auditorium of Oju Welfare Association, Naharlagun.
The meet-up included a session on the importance of LGBTQ+ visibility for public awareness and the significance of education to break down the social taboo that is hovering over the community.
The event unfolded with a welcome speech by Sawang Wangchha (He/Him), the founder of AP Queer Station, followed by an introductory session by all the members present.
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The meet-up was attended by a total of 15 LGBTQ+ members from the Capital region and a few who travelled from Ziro and West Kameng districts. The meet was also attended by a few allies that comprised of mental health professionals from AAPPA alongwith legal rights practitioners.
The meet included a short film-watching session in which a very powerful short film named ‘Gender Identity’ was shown to the attendees. Thereafter, a brief story-sharing session followed wherein core members of AP Queer station: T.R. Nending (He/Him), Taw Simon Tara (She/Her), Rituraj Borah (he/him) & many more members shared their lived experiences to invoke a sense of community bonding and peer support.
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The objective of the meeting as always, was to bring together the members of the queer community of the state as a collective.
Lawyer and activist Ebo Mili (He/Him) shared his side of concern for the community and assured that their team will put their best foot forward in fighting for the community concerning their rights and other important legal battles in the future.
Stressing on the impact of trauma, Psychologist Yuma Narah (She/Her) reminded everyone on the significance of being careful with one’s words, thoughts and language as something ‘trivial’ for someone can be a ‘triggering factor’ for another.
She further stressed on the importance of venting out to a significant person in life and adapting to healthy alternative ways of coping. Lastly, when situation goes out of hand and the caregiver fails to provide adequate assistance, professional intervention cannot be overlooked is what she further added.
The meet finally concluded by a vote of Thanks by Sawang Wangchha (He/Him) where he expressed the importance of community meetups and how the unanimous unity can help in the all-around development of the queer community.
He also expressed his gratitude to the Chairperson of the Oju Welfare Association Smti. Ratan Anya (She/Her) for her relentless support in favour of the community and for providing them with a safe space to conduct their meeting.
The team will be organising more such community meets every month, along with awareness and sensitization programmes in the days to come.
