The Indian Drag Queen who made Delhi Pride happen

Yashwinder Singh, born as male in a Sikh family in Punjab always believed that there was a ‘Lisa’ inside him. Brought up in a strict conventional family, coming out as gay and being a drag was a far fetched dream.

Yashwinder came out ad Gay at the of 27 and was forced to move to Delhi because of the mixed reactions from her family and her town in Punjab. Yashwinder felt at ease while being a drag and performed the first drag in 2015 as Lisa Nova Jena. Lisa loves the western outfits. Performing as a Drag, she always wears the stockings, gloves and hats.

She moved to Delhi in 2005 and the first Queer Pride Parade happened in 2008. Lisa was afraid that the political and religious party might attack them as India is homophobic and it was the time when Article 377 was not decriminalized. Lisa said that while she and her friends were expecting only over 100 participants at the national capital because not many were ready to reveal their identity and open. But they witnessed more than 500 including the allies that came in support of LGBTQ⁺.

As a Drag performer in India, Lisa is well known in her community and also is the face of Delhi Queer Pride. She is a part of NGO that focuses on sexual health of LGBTQ and have made commercials on use of PrEP.