‘Pride is not just a celebration; it’s a protest’

In this year’s Metro Manila Pride March, an estimated 25,000 people came together at the Marikina Sports Complex to #RiseUpTogether, celebrating not only love and pride, but rising up for other issues as well.

More than just a celebration of love and identity, pride marches have served as protest actions calling for gender equality and rights. The pride march traces its history to the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City, which sparked and strengthened the LGBTQIA+ rights movement in the United States.

While the global LGBTQIA+ movement has already achieved some significant victories (such as the approval of marriage equality in several countries), the struggle is far from over. In the Philippines, for example, aside from the absence of same-sex civil unions, there is currently no approved national legislation that protects members of the LGBTQIA+ community against the discrimination they experience in public spaces, educational institutions, and workplaces.

Story written by Krista Melgarejo.
Read the full article on CNN Philippines Life.

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