Photos courtesy of AFP and EPA
Activists recently led the third Viet Pride parade through Hanoi in the nation’s largest ever gay pride event.
Read the following story from the Bangkok Post to learn more about this dazzling parade.
On August 3, around 300 activists led a colourful parade through Hanoi in the nation’s largest ever gay pride event, as communist Vietnam shows signs of increasing tolerance of sexual difference.
COLOURFUL CROWD
The city streets were awash with rainbow flags while the mainly young crowd cycled and danced through the capital urging an end to discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
Homosexuality remains taboo in Vietnam, but a series of gradual advances, including the removal of fines for same-sex wedding parties, have been welcomed by the LGBT community in recent years.
PROUD EVENT
The recent event was the third gay pride parade in Vietnam and attracted a wide range of people including local activists, foreigners and curious by-standers.
“I’m here for the rights of homosexuals because I want them to be treated fairly like everyone else,” 20-year-old student Le Kieu Oanh said.
Another activist praised the government’s move to end curbs on same-sex wedding ceremonies, which are symbolic but not legally binding.
PROGRESS AGAINST PREJUDICE
Hanoi faces frequent criticism by international human rights groups, making it an unlikely champion for the region’s LGBT community.
One of the parade organisers, Nguyen Trong Dung, said homosexuals need to be accepted by their families before wider society ends its prejudice.
“If they are recognised by their own families, they have a good chance of integrating into society,” he said.
Demonstrations of any kind are tightly controlled in Vietnam, however police did not intervene in the Viet Pride parade.
Exercises
Read the story. Then, answer the following reading comprehension questions.
1. How old is Le Kieu Oanh?
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2. Nguyen Trong Dung was one of the parade organisers. True or false?
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3. What does LGBT stand for?
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4. When did the parade take place?
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Vocabulary
- tolerance (n): the willingness to accept or tolerate people, opinions or behaviour that you may not agree with
awash (adj): having something in large quantities
discrimination (n): the practice of treating somebody or a particular group in society less fairly than others
taboo (adj): a general agreement not to do or talk about something
prejudice (n): an unreasonable dislike of or preference for person, group, custom, etc.
intervene (v): to happen in a way that delays something or prevents it from happening
