The first march for freedom organised today by Mumbai’s queer community — gays, lesbians, bisexuals, hijras, transgenders, kothis, panthis, inter-sex people — found support from the city’s heterosexual community, with the only protests coming from a handful of commuters who objected to traffic blocks put up by the police.

The ‘Rainbow Walk’, a symbol for diversity, was flagged off by actor Celina Jaitely at August Kranti Marg and concluded at Chowpatty Beach with drumbeats and dancing and organizers, who had expected some trouble, heaving a sigh of relief as the event went off without a hitch. The march progressed smoothly with a show of rainbow flags, banners, slogans, colourful outfits, wigs worn by drag queens and a whole motley crew of filmmakers, designers, theatre persons, art collectors, even parents and a few children taking part. Some even flew in from Delhi, Bangalore and Rajasthan just to march.

“I lost a dear friend to homophobia. We should support the cause and hope that Section 377 goes,” said Jaitely, referring to the legal provision that criminalises homosexuality.

Participants dressed flamboyantly in gold wigs and cut-off dresses, stressing that such clothes could be worn by anyone —man or woman. The rainbow cowboy hats from Crawford Market were a big hit, and interestingly many carnival masks did not sell — “It seems people have been empowered by the show of numbers and are willing to take risks,” said Jarman of Salvation Star, an autonomous queer group.

“The antiquated British Law of section 377 should not be around in a society as progressive as ours. I am an eternal optimist and hope that the courts will take a supportive stand on the reading down of this section,” said advocate Anand Grover of Lawyers Collective, which is representing the petition against it in the Delhi High Court.

Maharukh Adenwala, a child rights activist added, “While we support the de-criminalisation of homosexuality, we are also pushing for more stringent child sexual abuse laws,” a sentiment that was supported with loud cheers.

Others like Chayanika of Lesbian and Bisexuals in Action (LABIA) stressed that the fight for queer women is also against oppressive practices like forced marriage and sexual and gender discrimination.