EP-2 Maya Sharma

Vedica Saxena is presently Delhi Vice President for WICCI (Women's Indian Chamber for Commerce and Industry) D&I.Currently in Delhi, working as a Project Director with Tagore International School where she initiates and leads social campaigns based on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) with senior students on Human Rights, for LGBT+ community rights, conducting gender sensitization workshops for other schools and colleges across country. She also mentors her students to conduct Spoken English, Mental Health, Interview Skills and Soft Skills for the LGBTQIA+ members. She closely works with NGOs/corporates/organizations, UNODC (United Nations Organization for Drugs and Crime), Embassies to raise funds for social causes. She is a strong Human Rights Advocate, D&I leader at workplace. She has also been featured in Books like QUEERISTAN, EQUALLY and in Print Media like The Hindu and Vogue India for her initiatives in creating inclusive educational spaces and motivating students to be sensitive towards all as humanity. Listen to how she is changing India one child at a time with her applaud worthy work in Tagore International School and corporates in the Podcast LGBTKyu with Prince Manvendra Gohil on the RedFM India App and all other leading platformsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aruna Desai, a founding member of Sweekar – The Rainbow Parents of India, discusses how she supported her son, Abhiskeh, who came out prior to the decriminalization of Section 377 in India. Shocked to discover how many Indian parents shun their LGBT children, she has made it her life’s mission to educate fellow parents about LGBT issues. Aruna Desai was a participant at the latest program of the Salzburg Global LGBT Forum – Advancing Legal and Social Equality in South Asia, held in Kathmandu, Nepal, February 24 to March 1, 2019. Listen to her speak to Manvendra Gohil in the podcast LGBTKyu where she discusses how she dealt with being a Rainbow parent and now she is counselling other parents on how to help their children accept themselves and how to support them so they can be of financial and emotional strength and contribute productively to theirs and others lives.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gautam Yadav is an Indian gays rights activist. He has been on the board of several national and international organizations including UNAIDS Youth advisory forum (Asia Pacific), Youth Voices Count, Youth LEAD and more. Gautam was awarded with LGBT heroes award in Bangkok by APCOM in 2017. He has worked with India HIV/AIDS Alliance and now works with Humsafar Trust. At a tender age, he discovered his orientation and is a riveting story of how a boy literally from the slums of India is now changing the world’s view on HIV+ individuals (being one himself) by speaking at international forums and counseling such individuals to help them rediscover the joy of living! listen to him speak to Manvendra Gohil whom he considers his mentor and the reason for his success in the podcast LGBTKyu podcast available on the Redfm India app and other leading platformsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"President Obama was starting an Advisory Council on Human Trafficking and wanted survivors on board. I was the only Indian American appointed to the council," says Mr D'Souza. "I started sharing my story and travelled far and wide to raise awareness about trafficking. Finally, my voice was heard when I got the call; the call from the White House. It has been over 16 year since Harold D'Souza arrived in the United States. One of the most vulnerable sections of society that is a an easy target for Human Trafficking is the LGBTQIA+ community members. With little or no acceptance from Society they often fall prey to false support and distant dreams of a better life from professional Human Traffickers. Harold Dsouza was one such victim who is now a proud survivor who is now actively working to help victims via his NGO Eyes Open International alongwith Prince Manvendra Gohil’s Lakshya Trust. They have joined hands to break this nexus that is now targeting the LGBTQIA+ community in full forceSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Born in Mumbai, Zainab is a transgender person & is one of the petitioners in the National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India case on transgender rights. She holds an MBA in Human Resources & is the National Manager Health & Human Rights at UNDP country office in India. She has been exposed to insightful partnerships across multiple types of organizations like, the United Nations, external partner institutions (including governments), National Human Rights Institutions, private sector, academia, NGOs & CSOs, gives her the strengths of versatility, leadership & skills of a facilitator. She is a woman with great conviction, known for her strong opinions, passion & ideas to bring the much-needed change in the LGBTQIA+ community and the world. Zainab is a powerful, articulate speaker who converts her life’s adversities into wonderful stories of inspiration, hope, faith & survival. Listen to her talk to Prince Manvendra Gohil in the podcast LGBTKyu podcast and share her views on the current state of the community and how to take it forward.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

June 7th 2021 is a historic day for the LGBTQIA+ community. In a significant judgment upholding the rights of members of LGBTQIA+ community, the Madras High Court has issued a slew of guidelines to ensure that. The Madras High Court has directed the Union and the State Government to take steps to prohibit attempts by physical and health professionals to medically ‘cure’ or change the sexual orientation of people belonging to the LGBTQIA + community. Any professional claiming to do so will have his licence withdrawn. These directions were passed by a single bench of Justice Anand Venkatesh while considering a writ petition filed by two lesbian women seeking protection. Listen to the Dynamic Lawyer Manuraj who fought on the behalf of these vulnerable women and has changed the course of history. The world needs more of ‘Manuraj’s’ who has addressed the situation with compassion and intelligence and has changed history this year forever!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Harish Iyer, is an Indian equal rights activist. Iyer engages in advocacy for a number of causes, including promoting the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, children, women, animals, and survivors of child sex abuse. Harish Iyer was also one of the most vocal proponents of the decriminalization of homosexuality in India. He was one of the people to move the Indian Supreme Court to decriminalize homosexuality. In June 2018, he filed an Impleadement Application in the 377 cases. In August 2018, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) appointed Iyer to the Core Group on LGBTI issues. This is the first group set up to look into concerns and challenges of the community, in a bid to harmonize existing laws with the needs of the community. He also was the first Guest on Aamir Khans show Satyamev Jayate where he gave a first-hand account of his abuse and answers the often asked question ‘Did sexual abuse from a male member make him a homosexual?’ Trigger warning: if this episode disturbs you please seek counsel from a mental health expert and reach out for help if needed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maya Sharma is a feminist, lesbian and activist who has been passionately involved in the Indian women’s movement. She has co-written Women’s Labour Rights, a book on single women’s lives. She is currently working with Vikalp Women’s Group, a grassroots organization in Baroda, Gujarat, that works with tribal women and transgender people. She got involved in the movements quite late – in her forties! While doing research for her book Loving Women: Being Lesbian in Unprivileged India, she noticed that women were very isolated and alone in far-flung areas, and saw the need to write about them and bring them together. That was one of the reasons why she joined Vikalp; because it was very willing to take up this issue, unlike several other organisationsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They call him Amma, ‘the mother of the gay community’, and unlike other ‘mothers’ in this country, he says, it’s a title he’s earned. He was the first Indian man to ever publicly declare his homosexuality.He is a living legend and the most respected journalist and an icon !! Ashok Row Kavi is the first man to publicly come out as gay in India way back in 1984, and in the over 30 years since, his life has been a rollercoaster of controversy that eventually brought him to the doorstep of the Supreme Court in 2018.Row Kavi, who founded the Mumbai-based LGBT rights NGO Humsafar Trust in 1994, is one of the many who have petitioned for the removal of Section 377, which criminalises homosexuality. With the support of a liberal family, he founded Bombay Dost, India’s first LGBT magazine in 1990. Early editions looked more like newspapers, but were sold at premium prices of Rs 15 or more by dealers — an MRP that exceeded even the mainstream film glossies such as . Ashok Row Kavi had finally arrived in Bombay.  Along with a diploma in religion and comparative theology from Ramakrishna, he also has a bachelors and masters in Chemistry from the University of Bombay. But the sciences didn’t hold Row Kavi for long, as he dropped out of college to pursue a career in journalism that spanned over 18 years. Along with big names such as The Indian Express, The Week, and the Free Press Journal, Row Kavi also started India’s first men’s magazine with his friend Anthony Van Braband in 1971. Called Debonair, the magazine would become famous for its topless female centrefolds.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.