Drag performer Kira Moon, who was assaulted in Singapore earlier this year, was one of the speakers at this year’s Pink Dot event.
Speaking to the crowd the performer delivered a rally call for action from the Singaporean government for greater protections for LGBTIQA+ people.
“I deserve to feel safe in public, or wherever I am regardless of my gender, sexual identity, the line of work I do, or what I choose to wear.” Kira Moon told the crowd.
She was one several speakers who called for more action in the country which only removed laws against homosexuality in 2022.
Bullying in schools, discrimination in the workplace and fostering societal acceptance were highlighted by a series of speakers.
Watch the video of this year’s call for action at Pink Dot.
This year the central message of the event was a call for equality with the theme of ‘No One Left Behind’.
Hundreds of participants wrote letters to Singapore’s new Prime Minister Lawrence Wong outlining their hopes for a more accepting Singaporean society.
Strict rules on protests in Singapore
Protests are only allowed in Singapore under strict rules. Speaker’s Corner in Hong Lim Park is the only space when speaking against the government is permitted. Over the years the Pink Dot movement has led the way in showing what a peaceful protest can achieve, but it faced increasing pressure from authorities as its popularity grew.
Originally the event was held in the evening with participants shining pink coloured torches into the night sky to create the ‘pink dot’. In recent year’s authorities have clamped down on the event only allowing it to be held during daylight hours, banning non-Singaporean citizen’s from attending, and stopping multi-national companies from sponsoring the event.
Organisers also faced huge fines if any of the strict rules are broken. Undeterred Pink Dot Singapore continued on finding innovative ways to continue to spread their message.
In 2023 they were allowed to once against hold the event in the evening, and shine torches into the night sky.
