The Queer Magazine That Defied a Nation
Xulhaz Mannan founded Roopbaan as a love letter to Bangladesh’s LGBT community. The price of ink was his life.
In 2016, on the eve of the Bengali New Year, the Bangladeshi queer community braced for the worst. Police had warned them to cancel the Rainbow Rally parade the next day, citing a barrage of homophobic threats and targeted killings. Organizers complied. When four people showed up anyway, perhaps unaware of the cancellation, police arrested them for defying orders.
Xulhaz Mannan, who founded Bangladesh’s first queer magazine, Roopbaan, lobbied for their release. He never found out if he succeeded. Just 10 days later, on April 25, extremists barged into his home and murdered him.
Though many remember Roopbaan for its tragic end, it had already done the unthinkable: dare to exist.