Nepal may have been the first country in South Asia to legalise homosexuality, but the social acceptance of sexual minorities still has a long way to go. Thus, a pleasant, and an important, event on Sunday made it even more imperative that LGBT issues are sensitised in the public sphere.
An hour-long programme at Moksha in Jhamsikhel on Sunday saw members from the Blue Diamond Society, an LGBT organization, and Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory put up a performance that incorporated dance, music, and theatre to spread the message of social tolerance all around.
The result of a four-day workshop in July under the TransArt Project Nepal, the project was initiated by Dutch foundation Creativity for Empowerment. "Transgenders have been marginalised but today they are at the centre stage," said Ankie Warmerdam from the foundation.
Thus, we had something like the Transgender Rap, a song that encompassed what the project was all about--do not discriminate against the third gender.
A play entitled Dreams was also put up at the programme. The play spoke about the limitations of dreams one may have in life. In a rather pragmatic way, the play asked the audience to dream, but also insisted that life is more than just dreams--instead, it is necessary to work hard to achieve them.
"Though language was a barrier, we could overcome it," said one of the instructors Sytse Schalk. Two such programmes had already been put up the previous year when the participants had worked with instructors Sjoerd Warmerdam and Jaco Van Den Dool. At the time, however, there was only a choir presentation. "The theatre culture here is different than in the Netherlands; they are more expressive here," said Schalk. Nevertheless, he enjoyed interacting with the performers and believes that this workshop has been the best experience of his life.
During the programme, the participants included a surprise performance in which they expressed their gratitude through a rap song which they wrote themselves and dedicated to their trainer Sean Dunne.
The performers seemed completely at ease on the stage. They expressed their wish to participate in such workshops again. One of the participants Swastika Lama explained, "This programme has given us a chance to be free and sing and dance in front of everyone." Another performer Umesh Pandey also agreed with Lama about how these events help them to liberate their feelings and exhibit their passion. He added, "It also helps us to sensitise issues of the third gender; it helps to spread awareness."
An hour-long programme at Moksha in Jhamsikhel on Sunday saw members from the Blue Diamond Society, an LGBT organization, and Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory put up a performance that incorporated dance, music, and theatre to spread the message of social tolerance all around.
The result of a four-day workshop in July under the TransArt Project Nepal, the project was initiated by Dutch foundation Creativity for Empowerment. "Transgenders have been marginalised but today they are at the centre stage," said Ankie Warmerdam from the foundation.
Thus, we had something like the Transgender Rap, a song that encompassed what the project was all about--do not discriminate against the third gender.
A play entitled Dreams was also put up at the programme. The play spoke about the limitations of dreams one may have in life. In a rather pragmatic way, the play asked the audience to dream, but also insisted that life is more than just dreams--instead, it is necessary to work hard to achieve them.
"Though language was a barrier, we could overcome it," said one of the instructors Sytse Schalk. Two such programmes had already been put up the previous year when the participants had worked with instructors Sjoerd Warmerdam and Jaco Van Den Dool. At the time, however, there was only a choir presentation. "The theatre culture here is different than in the Netherlands; they are more expressive here," said Schalk. Nevertheless, he enjoyed interacting with the performers and believes that this workshop has been the best experience of his life.
During the programme, the participants included a surprise performance in which they expressed their gratitude through a rap song which they wrote themselves and dedicated to their trainer Sean Dunne.
The performers seemed completely at ease on the stage. They expressed their wish to participate in such workshops again. One of the participants Swastika Lama explained, "This programme has given us a chance to be free and sing and dance in front of everyone." Another performer Umesh Pandey also agreed with Lama about how these events help them to liberate their feelings and exhibit their passion. He added, "It also helps us to sensitise issues of the third gender; it helps to spread awareness."
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