By Gibron Rahim

“OUR hopes for a more just, safe, and peaceful world can only be achieved when there is universal respect for the inherent dignity and equal rights of all members of the human family.”

The above quote uttered by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is a reminder that, in order for any among us to be equal, we must all be equal. Empowering Queers Using Artistic Learning (EQUAL Guyana), with its focus on engagement, education and empowerment of LGBTQ communities and allies in Guyana, has recently joined the host of human rights projects and organisations in Guyana.

The Pepperpot Magazine spoke to Anil Persaud, Founder and Managing Director of EQUAL Guyana, to learn more about the project. He related that the idea for EQUAL Guyana was born quite a while ago. He recognised that, while there was a lot being done in the area of LGBTQ rights, there was very little attention being paid to the arts in general. He pointed out that this was not always the case. “If you reference back to persons like Andre Subryan and so on there were the arts involved but over time it faded out and so the arts were not being used sufficiently,” Persaud explained.

The beginning of something great

Some funders, as Persaud noted, were very keen on using the arts to bring about change, a more progressive concept for human rights. While he was having the idea for a human rights project, a funder from the Netherlands reached out, asking about thoughts and ideas and expressing interest in supporting such an initiative. EQUAL Guyana was born from these initial stages. “And luckily the acronym made sense – Empowering Queers Using Artistic Learning,” Persaud quipped.

EQUAL Guyana has numerous goals, according to Persaud. “The vision of EQUAL is to foster social change and really create a respectful, accepting and safe country altogether for all LGBT people, regardless of everybody’s different characteristics,” he affirmed. He noted that there are three prongs to the entire process. The first is engagement. It involves reaching out to people, building networks and strong relationships.

Education is the second prong of the process. Persaud pointed out that a good education can drive out the ignorance that fuels a lot of homophobia and transphobia. This, he said, is where artistic education comes in. EQUAL will use the arts to help build people’s personalities and lead them to self-actualise. The final prong is empowerment. Through engagement and education, the goal is to empower LGBTQ persons, especially youth, to become more confident and be able to contribute positively to a national sense of identity.
EQUAL Guyana is currently being referred to as a project, rather than as an organisation. There is an important reason for that distinction, according to Persaud. “I’m keen to use the word ‘project’ because we have not yet formally registered,” he said. He explained that they have, however, initiated the process and have started gathering all the necessary documents and the like for that process. “I use the word ‘project’ because I don’t want people to run away with the wrong idea, but it will become an organisation.”

Activities

In terms of engaging the Queer community, Persaud pointed out that different organisations have different target groups. He related that the EQUAL Guyana’s funder was very specific that they engage LGBTQ youth. From focus groups, EQUAL Guyana found that there are simple activities that people would like to engage in. These are, “Things that should be accessible to the average youth but is not for LGBTQ youth, as compared to their cisgender, heterosexual counterparts,” Persaud said.

These activities include EQUAL Guyana’s recently held ‘Games Night’, art classes and training sessions. “We’re going to reach out to youth leaders, we’re going to reach out to LGBTQ youth in the different areas in Guyana,” he stated. “Partnering with [the Guyana Rainbow Foundation] we do have intentions to go out of Georgetown, go as far as Bartica and so on, to do training sessions.” These will be gender and human sexuality training sessions to get people to better understand concepts, according to Persaud. He noted that even within the LGBTQ community there is still a lack of knowledge about concepts of gender and sexuality.

EQUAL Guyana has willfully chosen social media as its key way of dispersing information. “That’s where our constituent is,” Persaud said simply. “We have driven some funds into LGBTQ campaigns online.” Besides participating in the recently concluded Guyana Pride Festival as part of its national campaign, Persaud explained that one of its upcoming campaigns will involve reaching out to influential persons in the Guyanese context and having them share an encouraging excerpt that says to youth that, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation, they are welcome to be part of their community or organisation. He related that LGBTQ people are still scared to apply for a job or access a service because they are unsure of the treatment they will receive.

Additionally, because the project is focused on art, Persaud said that EQUAL would like to host an art exhibition at the end of the year. They hope to include pieces created in all of EQUAL Guyana’s art sessions in the exhibition. The aim is to have an event that is inclusive of all, not just one aimed at the LGBTQ community.

Much of the groundwork for EQUAL Guyana was laid by Persaud himself. The initial planning stages had to be put on the back burner because, as he noted, he did not want there to be a conflict of interest with his previous post of employment. “I sat down a lot on my own and worked on this.” As it currently stands, Persaud is functioning in the role of managing director. Raiza Khan is currently the consulting psychologist on the team. She and Persaud, who has experience in visual arts, will collaborate on projects that incorporate elements of art and psychology. Alistair Sonaram, who has a vast expanse of experience in project coordination, and Scott Singh are EQUAL Guyana’s project coordinators. Persaud noted that the entire team is currently voluntary.

EQUAL aims to serve communities with honesty, trust and transparency. Persaud noted before the project even started he had reached out to individuals to seek their input. The three concepts were recurring themes from these interactions. He acknowledged that there are confidentiality clauses to contracts and a limit to the information can be shared because of the demands of funders. However, the aim is to have financial information available to stakeholders to the fullest extent possible.

“All resources that are given to NGOs, because NGOs really survive on donor funds and donor resources, are given to be used for the community and it’s only fair that the community can hold us accountable for the money,” Persaud affirmed. “That for us is important because that’s the only way you can develop a sense of trust and develop a sense of integrity for yourselves.” He added, “It’s us serving the community really so that’s very important for us.”

Partners welcome!
EQUAL is very open to collaboration. “We’re working very closely with GuyBow and we’ve collaborated already with GuyBow and we’ve only been properly established for about three weeks,” Persaud said. EQUAL collaborated with GuyBow on the Pride Symposium of the 2019 Guyana Pride Festival. “We’re willing to collaborate with anybody who wants to collaborate, once our ideals and our goals are similar,” said Persaud. “Also we’re not just open to collaborating with LGBTQ organisations or LGBTQ rights organisations.”

Persaud noted that it was only after naming EQUAL that he realised that the word “queer” is very intersectional. “It was not just used in the past to refer to LGBTQ persons but it was also used to refer to racial minorities and religious minorities and ethnic minorities.” Thus EQUAL is open to collaborating with other forms of human rights organisations. “It’s important to collaborate, it’s not just about money,” said Persaud. “If we can share other resources I think it’s important to build organisations.”

“Take a minute to check it out,” are Persaud’s words to potential members. “It’s not something that we’re rushing,” he said. He made it clear that it is not about building numbers. “Check out what we’re all about,” he stated. “All the information is accessible on the Facebook page and on the website.” He encouraged persons to reach out if they have any questions or concerns. “Reach out, we’re willing to talk, willing to answer,” he said.
“If it fits something that you’re interested in or if it starts to develop in your interest for you then register, become a member, get active and just start to contribute towards the community, and not just the LGBT community but our national identity at large because art and queer culture and education is really for everybody, and it helps to build our country and our communities and organisations at every level over time, so it’s not limited to one person or one group.”