New rainbow Indian organisation hopes to support 'minorities within a minority'

Tuesday, 10 May 2022

Indian Origin Pride New Zealand co-founder Arrun Soma said at the organisation’s launch that discussing issues like sexuality in the past would be difficult inside ethnic minority communities.

A new community group founded by rainbow Indians in Aotearoa hopes to change the wider Indian community to become more inclusive of those who have different sexual and gender identities, starting with a 12-month trial of a peer support programme for families.

Chairperson and co-founder Shay Singh said at the launch of Indian Origin Pride NZ at Parliament that the Indian community could be quite traditional and conservative, which forced people to be in a position where they had to choose between their sexuality or their community, and the association could make rainbow Indians visible.

“We want other rainbow people to be able to see us and know that we exist. Twenty odd years ago when I came out, we didn’t really see rainbow Indians visible anywhere,” he said.

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The launch of the Indian Origin Pride New Zealand (IOPNZ) is held in the Grand Hall at Parliament on Tuesday evening.

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“Our purpose is to give ourselves an identity, a voice and for other people who may be questioning their sexuality to know that they're not alone.”

Secretary and co-founder Arrun Soma, who also founded Wellington Indian Pride, also said in a speech that discussing issues like sexuality in the past would be difficult inside ethnic minority communities.

More than 50 people attended the Indian Origin Pride New Zealand’s launch on Tuesday evening, including drag queen Coco Flash who is of Indian descent.

“It was painful for all of us not just being a rainbow family, but also being Indian, coming from an ethnic minority here in New Zealand.

“Us ethnic minorities are often too ashamed to speak out about these issues. It’s better to show face rather than talk about the issues that are serious and matter to us.”

The group is creating a peer support program that would to help rainbow individuals and their families, and Singh said education and awareness are needed to drop cultural barriers on sexuality.

“When we come out, it’s not just ‘I come out’ – my whole family had to come out with me,” Singh said.

“ I was …dealing with my own issues in my own way, but so were my family, and they had nowhere to go.

“We're going to build from this and the idea is to create programmes so that our community and parents can understand this better and hopefully that will lead to better acceptance.”

Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities Minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan said she was “incredibly proud” of the community group, and hoped it could open the door for other ethnic communities to talk about sexuality or other issues including mental health and family violence.

More than 50 people attended the launch on Tuesday evening, including Radhakrishnan, Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson and Wellington mayor Andy Foster.