Panaji: Goa’s LGBTQ community on Saturday celebrated diverse sexualities by busting gender stereotypes at an event ‘Freedom is in the air’ to rejoice in the historic verdict striking down Section 377. Members of the community joined hands to celebrate art and the amendment to send out a simple message — ‘love and art transcend all boundaries’.“I have reached out to the religious head of my community, the cardinal, and made sure that after the verdict was out, no priest or bishop from the catholic community was going to say anything negative about the verdict and would be all embracing in a compassionate way, like Christ would have accepted us,” fashion designer Wendell Rodricks said.“That message, which the cardinal has approved, must go to other religions as well to get that religious bias out. Once people get it into their head that our religious leaders are okay with it, they will back the Supreme Court verdict on this matter,” he added.The festival held at the Museum of Goa (MOG) in Pilerne brought together artists and members of the community celebrating the verdict with a series of activities like live painting, seminars and a musical evening. Pop-up shops and food stalls gave visitors a festive feel to indulge in.“This festival is a good approach after the Section 377 verdict has been removed, but it should have been on a large scale. However, more sensitisation programmes and advocacy for the LGBTQ community has to be done,” transgender activist Diana Dias said.Errol Andrade, another member of the community, said that the festival urged him to attend a social event for the first time in a long time. “This is a very positive step where artists have taken this judgement forward in the easiest way. This is a small step but a good start towards integrating the LGBTQ community into society,” he said.

Stay updated with all the Latest Goa headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.