I’ve just finished reading a really interesting piece about the parade marshals at Gay Pride over in Vancouver this year and found it a really interesting and inspiring read.

The reason I found it so inspiring is because one of the parad marshals at the Pride was Sahran Abeysundara who set up the first gay rights organisation and Pride in Sri Lanka.

Now that might not sound like much in this age of increased Western acceptance of the GLBT community but Sri Lanka is still a country that criminalises homosexuality.This criminisation was first put in place by us Brits when we took control of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1814 (another great British mistake!) and has been in place ever since. There have been many attempts to get this repealed. They’ve failed and actually lead to lesbians being included when the government noticed the law was gender-biased.

Sahran Abeysundara organised the first ever Pride in Sri Lanka three years ago. It was a small affair in a local nightclub but showed that there was a community in Sri Lanka, proud of their sexuality and wanting to show it.

This was something that Sahran was passionate about nuturing and he did so through the setting up of Equal Ground which provides the gays and lesbians of Sri Lanka with the support, advice and community they so wanted and needed. His work still continues and Sahran is passionate about moving forward with the fight for equality, a brave thing in a country that criminalises his sexuality.

It’s a piece you really should read and hearing about Sahran’s work was incredibly humbling for me, a person who is reeping the benefits of those who have before me had the same battle here in the UK.

You can find out more about Sahran and fellow Gay Pride Marshall, Gilbert Baker at the Equal Ground Blog and can help the support the movement by becoming a member of Equal Ground.

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