Roopali Pandey (centre) talks about how she just wants everyone to know there is nothing queer about being homosexual
Did anyone notice a small South Asian representation at the Sydney Mardi Gras?
Chances are you may have missed it like many others. Although exact numbers are hard to come by, reliable sources say there is a large number of South Asians that are gay but are yet to come out to their friends and family. This renders them almost invisible in the community – both the larger gay community as well as the South Asian community.
There is one person who is out to change that. Meet Roopali Pandey. She is determined to provide support to this group and also to ensure that they be portrayed as normal people within the community.
“We are trying to raise awareness about the gay and lesbian communities. I want to tell everyone that we are normal. Just like anyone else, we are professionals. We have a life,” says Roopali.
She is taking her cue from Trikone in San Francisco. Trikone is a non-profit organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people of South Asian descent. Founded in 1986 in the San Francisco Bay Area, Trikone is the first group of its kind in the world. South Asians affiliated with Trikone trace their ethnicities to one of the following places: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tibet.
“In terms of structure, we are using the same as this has been successful.”
The official launch of Trikone Australasia was with the South Asian Queer Film Festival which will screen such movies as Nikhil, My Brother and XXX.
The film festival went from 15-19 August at the Metropolitan community Church of Petersham which has a history of working with gay and lesbian groups.
SBS newsreader Anton Enus attended the inauguration along with Mayor of c.
Trikone Australasia is run by Roopali along with four other directors. While anyone can be a member, the directors would need to be South Asian. “There is a sub-section called Friends of Trikone where your partner can join if he/she happens to be from a non South Asian background,” says Roopali explaining the structure.
While gays and lesbians face a number of problems, Roopali feels that the problems faced by South Asian gays are unique to themselves. Firstly, the law in India and many other South Asian countries state that homosexuality, or 'carnal intercourse against the order of nature' as it is described, is an offence punishable with arrest. For this reason, many do not come out to their friends and family.
Another reason is the close-knit nature of the community that does not take kindly to such a revelation from the children. Mostly they are unaware how to deal with it.
“I was lucky in that my parents are quite liberal. I remember when I first told my sister, who was in UK at the time. I had just broken up with my girlfriend and realised that I needed some kind of support. She told me that they knew about it all along. My mother has never spoken to me about it any details but then she has not been against it either,” says Roopali talking about her own experiences from about 8 years ago.
What Trikone is not is a counselling service. “We are not psychologists. We don’t claim to be. We will not be able to tell you what the best way is to deal with a situation, how y should come out to your family or even if you should. We just provide support to this community,” says Roopali, adding that if someone does need help, they are referred onto the couselling services provided by the local community group.
And why call it a queer festival? “In the western context it sounds worse than it is. The intention was just to take the mickey out of the word and to embrace the difference in a way.”
Did anyone notice a small South Asian representation at the Sydney Mardi Gras?
Chances are you may have missed it like many others. Although exact numbers are hard to come by, reliable sources say there is a large number of South Asians that are gay but are yet to come out to their friends and family. This renders them almost invisible in the community – both the larger gay community as well as the South Asian community.
There is one person who is out to change that. Meet Roopali Pandey. She is determined to provide support to this group and also to ensure that they be portrayed as normal people within the community.
“We are trying to raise awareness about the gay and lesbian communities. I want to tell everyone that we are normal. Just like anyone else, we are professionals. We have a life,” says Roopali.
She is taking her cue from Trikone in San Francisco. Trikone is a non-profit organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people of South Asian descent. Founded in 1986 in the San Francisco Bay Area, Trikone is the first group of its kind in the world. South Asians affiliated with Trikone trace their ethnicities to one of the following places: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tibet.
“In terms of structure, we are using the same as this has been successful.”
The official launch of Trikone Australasia was with the South Asian Queer Film Festival which will screen such movies as Nikhil, My Brother and XXX.
The film festival went from 15-19 August at the Metropolitan community Church of Petersham which has a history of working with gay and lesbian groups.
SBS newsreader Anton Enus attended the inauguration along with Mayor of c.
Trikone Australasia is run by Roopali along with four other directors. While anyone can be a member, the directors would need to be South Asian. “There is a sub-section called Friends of Trikone where your partner can join if he/she happens to be from a non South Asian background,” says Roopali explaining the structure.
While gays and lesbians face a number of problems, Roopali feels that the problems faced by South Asian gays are unique to themselves. Firstly, the law in India and many other South Asian countries state that homosexuality, or 'carnal intercourse against the order of nature' as it is described, is an offence punishable with arrest. For this reason, many do not come out to their friends and family.
Another reason is the close-knit nature of the community that does not take kindly to such a revelation from the children. Mostly they are unaware how to deal with it.
“I was lucky in that my parents are quite liberal. I remember when I first told my sister, who was in UK at the time. I had just broken up with my girlfriend and realised that I needed some kind of support. She told me that they knew about it all along. My mother has never spoken to me about it any details but then she has not been against it either,” says Roopali talking about her own experiences from about 8 years ago.
What Trikone is not is a counselling service. “We are not psychologists. We don’t claim to be. We will not be able to tell you what the best way is to deal with a situation, how y should come out to your family or even if you should. We just provide support to this community,” says Roopali, adding that if someone does need help, they are referred onto the couselling services provided by the local community group.
And why call it a queer festival? “In the western context it sounds worse than it is. The intention was just to take the mickey out of the word and to embrace the difference in a way.”
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