While we Indians continue to protest with placards and slogans in favour of the LGBT movement, this group of gay men, Boys of Bangladesh have come out with their country’s first lesbian comic character. How cool is that!
The character is aptly named Dhee, taken from their lesbian movement, Project Dhee, which means wisdom in Bengali. It taps into the issue of female sexuality along with other social taboos like menstruation and the female body. Although this isn’t the first time that a homosexual comic character has been created. DC and Marvel Comics both have upped their inclusion of homosexuality in their stories in the recent years. But none of them are indigenous to the subcontinent – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. Creating our own characters make them more relatable to readers and ensures a wider reach. Because who wouldn’t like to read a comic – it’s short, funny and colourful.
Now, the primary reason behind choosing a female character was to change the male-dominated nature of the LGBT movement in Bangladesh. India and Bangladesh share similar cultural baggage and so, while the gay community in both countries are fairly visible, the lesbians are an invisible community. As women living in countries that enforce numerous restrictions on their physical movements, education, rights and choices, dealing with the taboo of homosexuality becomes twice as difficult for them.
This is a cool new way to bring a voice to the community. Perhaps India should borrow a leaf from Bangladesh’s book or in this case, Boys of Bangladesh.
Image via Boys of Bangladesh
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