SAATHII

Location: India

Focus: empowering grassroots LGBTQI activists

Website: https://www.facebook.com/saathii.india/

SAATHII seek universal access to rights, health, and legal and social services for communities marginalised due to their HIV status, gender or sexuality. Their LGBTQI work aims to amplify community voices. 

With GiveOut’s support,  SAATHII established a Fellowship programme, now in its second year. This has created a new way of supporting LGBTQI activists who have the potential to advocate for social and policy change around LGBTQI rights through individual projects focused on gender and sexuality.  

Several activists have benefited. In 2019, Revathi staged her play ‘Vellai Mozhi’ across India to public approval. Posts and photographs of her performances circulated on social media and led to further invitations. Muthukumar ran 14 sensitisation sessions and lobbied local government officials, representatives, and faculty and administrators, calling for safe spaces for trans communities. In 2020, Kumam mobilised and facilitated COVID relief in Manipur for 40+ transgender people. Kumam has since been invited to University of California Santa Barbara, Ashoka University Delhi and Gargi College Delhi University to run webinars, workshops and write articles on the experiences of LGBTQI people during COVID. Shivalal is developing an online directory for the state of Assam, containing queer affirmative services; a website launched in May 2021. In 2021, GiveOut’s grant will continue to support two activists to participate in the fellowship programme. 

GiveOut is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (Registered Charity Number 1176434).