Jammu, the city of temples, is still in its probation period when it comes to accepting LGBTQIA+ community. The community is itself figuring out how to come out to their families, society and friends. There are very few people who have come out to the world and even among them; most of them don’t live in Jammu.
They have moved out either for studies or for jobs and also to find more members of the community so as to develop bonds with them. I can say that most of the LGBTQIA+ community is still behind the veil in Jammu. In June 2022, Jammu had its first pride parade organised by “The Queers From Jammu and Climate Front Jammu” which received a mixed response from the people. But it surely initiated a conversation among the masses and the community got its long-due recognition. It’s been months since the pride parade and even now there are no queer friendly spaces where people can meet and greet. There is an online space , the instagram page of “The Queers From Jammu '' for Jammu LGBTQIA+ folks to connect with each other. This organisation also organises offline meet-ups in association with Climate Front Jammu, every once in a while. Climate Front Jammu is the only NGO which is working along with The Queers from Jammu association in Jammu that is working towards creating safer spaces for LGBTQIA+ folks.
The community is also trying to connect with each other by online dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, Grinder, As you are but the number of people is very less on these apps. But ya! You might find a lot of cis-heterosexual men on these apps trying to lure the gay men by faking their profile bio-data; so just be aware of that. Bumble has got a nice crowd of verified members from Jammu but again there are a few fake ones too. So, be cautious while using these apps.
The metaverse FirstContact.LGBT too has few members from Jammu and the number is going up everyday. Here you can talk, chat, play games together to break the ice and can stay anonymous for as long as you want. But if you are a queer person from Jammu who wants to meet other queer people from there in an offline mode, connecting with the instagram account of “The Queers From Jammu'' is the most safest and secure place as they very well understand the dynamics of Jammu with respect to LGBTQIA+ folks. People are waiting for the next pride parade so that more people can interact with each-other at one place , have the courage to come-out and more awareness spreads in Jammu. I truly, hope that with each passing day, the struggles of LGBTQIA+ folks in Jammu reduces and more people become welcoming towards the community so that Jammu can too have multiple queer friendly offline spaces in the coming years.
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