PRIDE MONTH: REMEMBER LOVE WINS

FLY THAT RAINBOW FLAG HIGH!

It is pride month once again the time of the month where queer folk and qweens come out of hibernation, dust of their Tootoo skirts and start parading shirtless with glitter bombs everywhere (more than usual). 

The reception is breath-taking this year as celebrations kicked off in high gear with publications parading their favorite LGBTQ+ icons on every cover.

Behind the celebrations pride month comes with its own challenges and ebbs, the one month that we get to stick it to the man (also more than usual) is always surrounded by some blistering thunder cloud.

This year Namibia experienced an historic win for the LGBTQ+ community when the supreme court ruled in favor of same sex marriages for spouses who wed outside the country.

What was meant to be greeted with wings of triumph rather left a bitter taste in some.

This fueled fiery passion of hate in some to the extent of anti-homosexual groups protesting and expressing their rather colorful opinions in various WhatsApp groups that filled to the brim instantly.

Hate speech and content disseminated and spread faster than an HIV educational seminar in 2006. 

And yet, all are entering pride month with 6 inch heels and lashed out. Sequenced skirted alien superstars who still bravely face the storm and laugh in the face of danger.

It makes one think, will pride month be the same this year?, will we celebrate and still fill safe spaces without the fear of harm?. Or are we laying targets for the hyenas to pounce on the second we get comfortable?

And then it dawns that activist and leaders since the stonewall riots cleared the path for this day, for a historic month no one from both sides will ever forget.

This was the month that love won, a month where the rights of the minority were seen, a month to remember that these individuals exist and the spaces they occupy are enormous and can never be removed.

Pride month this year will be a reminder of their resilience, their strength, and ability to always hold their heads up high in spaces that would rather see them chained and mauled. 

Pride month should be a reminder of the heroes that stand up for their community everyday and fight, leading battles single handedly, it should be a steppingstone for those that think they can’t or don’t belong. 

When we all celebrate this month, we should celebrate with absolute pride and joy.