Hundreds of members of Sri Lanka’s LGBTQ+ community paraded through the streets of Colombo on Sunday (16) to mark Pride Month and demand an end to discrimination. 

The marchers carried rainbow flags and placards calling for a ban on conversion therapies, an end to police harassment, and equal treatment.

However, last year’s anti-government protests amid an unprecedented economic crisis have emboldened the LGBTQ+ community, organizers said.

Despite the growing visibility, Sri Lanka’s laws still criminalize homosexuality, with a bill pending before Parliament to decriminalize it.

The event, themed “Stronger Together,” was one of many organized by Sri Lanka’s LGBT+ community.

For Equal Ground, the organization behind Sunday’s march, this year marks the 20th anniversary of Pride celebrations.

“The Colombo Pride Festival started during the war. We didn’t take to the streets because it wasn’t safe,” Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, LGBTQ+ rights activist and founder of Equal Ground, told the media.

Rosanna, emphasized that this year’s march had the character of a silent protest for community rights, adding, “We want it to be a safe and happy place for everyone.”

Navoda Bennet, a non-binary trans fashion designer who identifies as feminine, wore an outfit of her own design and enthusiastically joined the LGBTQ+ community in Narahenpita, Colombo, to celebrate her culture.