Dear Editor
EMPOWER Queers Using Artistic Learning (EQUAL Guyana) is a new non-governmental human rights project promoting equality for all through the engagement, education and empowerment of gender and sexual minorities in Guyana.

Despite being newly formed, LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) rights project, EQUAL Guyana celebrated Pride in Guyana with support from COC Netherlands and was responsible for a contingent of almost 50 persons in the Guyana Pride Parade, held on June 1.

EQUAL Guyana reiterates that LGBTQ rights in Guyana are not limited and is not a monopolised sector and as such, all contributing partners should be recognised for their efforts. EQUAL Guyana congratulates the LGBTQ community and allies for the strength, courage, resilience and diversity displayed during the Pride Parade and calls on the wider public, including the Government of Guyana and the religious sector, to recognise that LGBTQ rights are human rights and that consenting adults should be allowed to express themselves and live authentic lives without fear of stigma and discrimination. Guyana is notably one of the most progressive countries in relation to laws and policies in the Caribbean and this should be reflected in the way persons are treated on a day-to-day basis, but this can only be achieved by eliminating the ignorance that exists through grassroot education and public campaigns, all of which EQUAL has set out to complete before the end of 2019

Pride for EQUAL Guyana is all about making your mark and standing up to say, ‘We are still here, no matter what trials we face, and we will continue to live authentically and contribute to Guyana like any other citizen’; and EQUAL believes that its membership and pride contingent of almost 50 persons truly celebrated with pride in their veins throughout the pride festival.

The pride parade just represents one day of liberation and freedom, but that does not compensate the fact that many LGBTQ persons still face severe discrimination in various sectors in Guyana, including in employment. Pride is seasonal for many people who only celebrate the LGBTQ community once a year, but homophobia is a daily epidemic. In this regard, EQUAL encourages the fair and just treatment of all persons on a day-to-day basis, instead of just in one season or around one specific date. This positive change that needs to occur can only be achieved if there is unison between every single person in Guyana as every person play a major role in influencing cohesive, effective change.

EQUAL Guyana assures the public that this new organisation is here to offer a new, bright, honest and trustworthy approach to human rights, where real people form the core of the projects so that the real, average persons on the street can truly benefit from the short- and long-term impacts of positive change.
Regards,

Anil Persaud