Key facts
- Hungary's LGBTQ+ community is set to hold its annual Pride march in Budapest.
- The march aims to restore rights curtailed during Viktor Orban's 16-year tenure.
Hungary's LGBTQ+ community is preparing for its annual Pride march in Budapest, seeking the restoration of rights eroded during Viktor Orban's 16-year rule. Following Orban's party's defeat in April, the march is now authorized, though activists emphasize that significant work remains to heal the community and reverse restrictive laws.
The upcoming Pride march in Hungary signifies a potential shift in LGBTQ+ rights following a period of significant rollback under Viktor Orban's government. The event highlights the ongoing struggle for equality and the community's efforts to reclaim rights and heal from years of restrictive policies.
Hungary's LGBTQ+ community is preparing for its annual Pride march in Budapest, seeking the restoration of rights that were eroded during Viktor Orban's 16-year rule. Last year's march was met with an attempted ban by Orban's government, evolving into a large anti-government demonstration. This year, following the defeat of Orban's Fidesz party by Peter Magyar's centre-right Tisza party in April, the ban has been lifted, and the march is authorized.
Organizers acknowledge that despite the lifting of the ban, substantial work remains. "We have not reached our goal yet," they stated ahead of the event. During his tenure, Orban, who positioned himself as a defender of Christian values against Western liberalism, enacted laws that ended gender changes in official documents, halted adoptions by same-sex couples, and prohibited materials in schools perceived as promoting homosexuality or gender transition.
Adam Andras Kanicsar, an LGBT activist and writer, described the impact of the Orban regime as traumatic, stating that healing will take years. He noted the extra effort required for him and others in the LGBTQ+ community to work and speak openly over the past 16 years.
While Peter Magyar, a conservative leader, has requested patience regarding legislative changes for the LGBTQ+ community, he has also denounced the previous government's actions. Magyar has called on Orban's Fidesz party to cease interfering in the private lives of Hungarians and condemned their move to restrict the right to assembly to ban the Pride march.