Members of LGBTQ community interact with each other at Stories-Queer Café kin Pune. (Express Photo) Pune’s queer community can now look forward to hosting their events or hanging out at Stories-Queer Café, which declared itself as an ‘LGBTQ safe space’ on Saturday.
Shyam Konnur, founder of the newly opened queer café on the South Main Road of Koregaon park, said he and his staff are committed to provide a safe space for the community to hold their events or get-togethers.
Finding safe spaces has been a constant problem for the city’s LGBTQ community. Konnur said given the various phases of coming out that the members of the community have, a safe space is necessary for organisers to encourage participation of their members. “Cities like Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai already have queer spaces. Our café, which proudly hangs the pride flag outside, aims to be such a place in Pune,” he said.
Konnur also plans to employ transgenders after training them in cooking and customer service, among other skills.
The café, in a press statement, said it is their mission to “create a space where people can be themselves, free from discrimination or harassment”, adding, “We aim to create a supportive community for queer individuals, allies, and anyone who wants to be part of a welcoming and inclusive environment.”
The café has a number of policies to ensure that everyone feels safe and comfortable, including a zero- tolerance policy against hate speech, harassment and discrimination. “We believe that diversity is what makes our community great, and we want to celebrate that,” Konnur said. “We hope that our queer café can become a hub for the LGBTQ+ community, a place where people can come together, make connections, and feel at home,” he added.
Konnur, who is the co-founder of Mist LGBTQ Foundation has been working on several initiatives for the queer community, including HIV AIDS testing and other health issues.