Celebrating indigenous queer identities with Shaneel Lal

Shaneel Lal (they/them) is a prominent activist and political commentator who sits at the intersection of Aotearoa New Zealand’s BIPOC and queer communities. They are a fierce advocate for ending conversion therapy and in February 2022, their efforts resulted in legislation being passed that bans the practice in New Zealand.

In our conversation, we cover:

• Growing up queer in Fiji and how that informed Shaneel’s advocacy later on
• The impact of colonisation on queer communities in Fiji
• Colonial queerness vs indigenous queerness, and how colonisation stripped away indigenous queer identities
• Their journey to self-acceptance of their queer identity
• Their conversion therapy experience
• Why successfully getting conversation therapy banned in Aotearoa was not their most joyful moment (and what really brings them joy in their activism)

You can follow Shaneel on Instagram, Twitter, and their column for The New Zealand Herald.

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