Pride in Resistance: LGBTQIA+ Communities Take Bold Global Stand

From banned parades in Budapest to emerging voices in India and Réunion, 2025 marks a pivotal Pride season defined by protest, art, and global solidarity.

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY — A sea of rainbow flags waved defiantly through the streets of Hungary’s capital on Saturday as more than 100,000 demonstrators defied a national ban and surveillance threats to participate in the country’s 30th annual Pride March.

The demonstration — declared illegal under a law passed in March that prohibits “promoting homosexuality” — was Hungary’s largest LGBTQIA+ protest to date. Attendees risked fines and potential jail time as authorities deployed facial recognition systems to identify marchers.

“This is more than Pride. This is civil disobedience,” said activist Dóra Gulyás, who traveled from Debrecen to attend. “They want to erase us — but we’re louder than ever.”

Despite condemnation from Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who labeled the event "repulsive," dozens of EU lawmakers and foreign diplomats stood in solidarity. The Norwegian delegation marched under their national flag, joining rights groups, families, and trans youth calling for equality and democratic freedoms.

🇺🇸 Across U.S. Cities, Pride Marches Speak Loudly — and Politically

In New York, San Francisco, and Chicago, Pride events blended pageantry with protest.
Under the banner “Rise Up: Pride in Protest,” the NYC Heritage of Pride March drew over 700 advocacy groups, honoring the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

In San Francisco, the tone turned confrontational when mayoral hopeful Daniel Lurie was heckled and booed at the city’s Trans March, following backlash over his refusal to raise the Trans flag at City Hall earlier that week.

“Allyship requires action, not optics,” shouted a protester holding a sign that read “No Pride Without Trans Rights.”

These marches came amid a resurgence in U.S. anti-LGBTQ legislation, particularly targeting transgender health care and education rights in over a dozen states.

🇮🇳 India's “In Transit” Shines Light on Gender-Diverse Lives

Away from protest lines, visibility also emerged through art and cinema. On June 13, Amazon Prime Video premiered In Transit, a four-part documentary featuring nine transgender and non-binary individuals from across India.

Directed by Ayesha Sood and executive produced by Zoya Akhtar, the series has received critical acclaim for its intimate, humanizing portrayals of people navigating identity, family, and community in a rapidly shifting society.

“We’re not trying to sensationalize. We’re trying to be seen,” said Sood at the Mumbai screening.

🇷🇪 Creole Queer Art Debuts in Paris, Heading to Réunion & Brazil

In the French capital, an ambitious new exhibit titled Kwir Nou Éxist (“Queer, We Exist”) launched at the Festival Paris l’été on July 15.
Conceived by model and activist Raya Martigny and art director Edouard Richard, the project celebrates Creole LGBTQIA+ voices from Réunion, an often-overlooked French territory in the Indian Ocean.

Combining photography, spoken word, and video installation, the show draws parallels between colonial legacies, gender nonconformity, and cultural survival.

“We exist. We create. We resist. That’s our message,” said Martigny.

The exhibition will later travel to Saint-Denis (Réunion) and São Paulo, amplifying visibility for communities often left out of mainstream queer discourse.

🗺️ Global Rights Report: Gains and Setbacks

  • Lithuania legalized same-sex partnerships this month — a rare win in Eastern Europe.

  • In China, a trans woman won a lawsuit against a hospital for forced conversion therapy.

  • Ghana reintroduced its controversial anti-LGBTQ bill, reigniting fears of institutionalized homophobia.

📝 Editorial: A Movement Without Borders

In 2025, Pride is no longer confined to celebration. It is protest, testimony, and art. It is legislation, defiance, and the refusal to disappear.

From the bricks of Stonewall to the bridges of Budapest, this year’s global Pride movement sent one unified message:

We are here. We are many. And we are not going back.

Follow The Global Tribune’s LGBTQIA+ Correspondence Desk for more coverage from Budapest, New York, Mumbai, Saint-Denis, and beyond.

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