Why Dutee Chand Held A Pride Flag At Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony

India’s first openly gay sprinter Dutee Chand unfurled a pride flag at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. The athlete raised awareness about how homosexuality is still a crime in nearly half of Commonwealth nations. In doing so, Chand joined hands with other athletes and LGBTQIA+ rights activists.

British diver Tom Daley, an openly queer athlete and LGBTQIA+ rights advocate shared a picture in which he was seen along with six other athletes, Dutee Chand, Bisi Alimi, Glenroy Murray, Jason Jones, Moud Goba, and Possy Kakooza carrying pride flags with them to the Commonwealth Games Opening.

LGBTQIA+ athletes and advocates highlighted that over half of the Commonwealth countries still criminalise homosexuality. In three of the countries, the maximum penalty is the death sentence.

This opening ceremony for us is about showing LGBTQ+ visibility to the billion people watching: Tom Daley

Daley took to social media and shared, “Tonight at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, myself and 6 extraordinary LGBTQ+ athletes and advocates from around the Commonwealth will be carrying the Queen’s baton into the stadium.” Daley, who holds Olympic gold medal in the men's synchronized 10-metre platform event,  described the laws criminalising homosexuality as “a legacy of colonialism”. He further added, "This opening ceremony for us is about showing LGBTQ+ visibility to the billion people watching so I wanted to shout out the incredible six people that I’ll be walking into the stadium with."

Dutee Chand holds pride flag: Why it matters

Dutee Chand is India’s first openly queer athlete. In 2019, Chand publically stated that she was in a same-sex relationship after the Supreme Court’s decision to decriminalise homosexuality. She said that following her coming out, she was shunned by her village. Chand said, “Whenever anyone saw me they’d say, ‘she’s gay’, ‘she’s lesbian’ or use odd words to describe me. Eventually people started understand and after the reading down of Section 377, many started supporting me.”

Having faced shaming and discrimination herself for her sexual orientation, it is befitting that today the sprinter is advocating LGBTQ+ rights surrounded by international athletes. As Chand said, "It is not a crime to love someone, it's everyone's right. To be able to spend your life with someone you like is what love is all about".

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