On the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT), social media was abuzz with hashtags and videos. Techfest at IIT Bombay, in collaboration with Saathi IIT (an LGBTQ resource group) released a YouTube video titled 'A hesitant hug' in which heterosexual students hug their homosexual peers to tell them that they accept them the way they are.
Aaditya Joshi, the director of the video, said that the concept was to 'combat homophobia with a hug'. "The concept was simple," he said. "Straight people hug their queer colleagues and are okay with it. It was our way to tell people in non-IIT colleges to respect the queer people they may have with them. Techfest is Asia's largest science and technology festival, and for the first time, Saathi-IIT has got such a huge support," he added.
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Other forms of videos were also uploaded for Yaariyan's competition. An LGBT youth group, Yaariyan announced a Dubsmash competition online, where people had to answer homophobes with a dubbed film dialogue on the Dubsmash phone application.
"When we decide the winners, the top three videos will get free Kashish film festival passes. We also organised a Bollywood karaoke night at a restaurant where we are promoting the film festival as well,"said Shruta Neytra, founder member of Yaariyan. The Humsafar Trust organised a street play in Dharavi.
Gaysi family, an online forum and website for Indian queers, announced a fundraiser. With the hashtag #IDAHOT, people could post their pictures with messages on social media, and for every hashtag accompanied by a selfie, Gaysi said they'll donate Rs100 to VIDYA (Vidya Integrated Development for Youth and Adults).
IDAHOT is celebrated on May 17 to commemorate the day when homosexuality was removed from the international classification of diseases. The day is celebrated across the world to create awareness about LGBT rights violations and discrimination, and also to celebrate gender and sexual diversities.
