queer i s t a n

Last year I attended a short orientation to prepare me for work in rural India. Facing a year in the closet, I asked what I could expect from men in my community in rural Rajasthan:
"You might see some men holding hands like homosexuals in the west."
As a westerner I may have jumped to conclusions about two men holding hands. Certainly in London, you can guarantee that two men holding hands are probably gay or bisexual....

Simon McNorton is an Indicorps Fellow 2010 working on inclusive education programs in Rajasthan. His time in India is allowing him to discover his family's roots in India. Prior to India, Simon worked for gay equality organizations in the US and UK on...

One of our first posts at queeristan was about the nascent LGBT movement in Nepal (please ignore the unfortunate wording choice...we were young and facetious then):
Nipple
Nepal, Land of High Peaks, Opens Bosom for LGBTs. The recent political upheaval in Nepal, which replaced the aboslute monarchy with a secular republic, provided an opportunity for the Nepali LGBT movement to take root. In a newly-minted democracy, the...

Some great news below -- read and take advantage of this excellent resource!
"The South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association of New York City announces the launch of its LGBTIQ support hotline. This is the first such hotline for LGBTIQ South Asians in the USA. While the hotline is for everyone, we particularly hope to reach those...