On June 21, the streets of the capital once again filled with color, voices, and resistance as the sixth Skopje Pride took place — not as a celebration, but as a loud and determined act of protest. Under the slogan “We Will (Re)Stand Together!”, participants marched through Skopje, sending powerful messages against social injustice, discrimination, and political neglect.

The organizers decided that this year’s Pride would be explicitly a protest, responding to the alarming state of human rights, rising hatred, and institutional apathy.

Key messages from the protest:

• The government’s demographic hysteria and rhetoric, instrumentalizing childbirth while ignoring real societal problems;
• The systematic removal of LGBTIQ+ inclusivity from education and the neglect of queer youth;
• The orchestrated attacks against the trans community that spread moral panic and incite violence;
• The lack of solidarity with Palestine and the disregard for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination;
• Growing economic misery — food as a luxury, and a dignified wage as an impossible dream;
• Systemic corruption and impunity that have led to tragedies such as the fire in Kochani, where 62 people lost their lives.

March of Resistance — From “Woman Fighter” Park to the Government Building

The event began with a gathering at Woman Fighter Park, where activist Leo Popović addressed the crowd:

“For the sixth time, we return to the streets of Skopje to remind everyone why we’re here.
While the world burns in wars and climate collapse, and the state crumbles under the weight of its own corruption and incompetence, we — the LGBTIQ+ people — refuse to be complicit in it.
We are neither guilty nor silent. Our existence proves that there are other ways of living together and resisting. We don’t offer an escape — we offer an alternative. A world not built on exploitation, fear, and control, but on radical care, solidarity, and collective liberation.”

The march continued to the Ministry of Education and Science, where a parent of a transgender child addressed Minister Vesna Janevska:

“Vesna Janevska is not just any Minister of Education — she has become an instrument in the hands of people who dream of a world without LGBT people and people with disabilities. These people pose as concerned parents, and she diligently works to make their dream come true.”

“You couldn’t send LGBT kids to special resource centers like you do with children with disabilities, but you did abandon them to bullying from their classmates and teachers.
Your duty is to provide LGBT children and children with disabilities with an education where they feel they belong — just like all other kids.”

VDzambaski

At the Government — A Call for Accountability and Resistance

In front of the Government, Slavcho Dimitrov emphasized the political essence of Pride:

“We refuse, and will always refuse, for Pride to be reduced to a cheerful little party that satisfies the voyeuristic needs of supposedly neutral observers and participants.
We refuse to be depoliticized and turned into a parade for corporate promotion — to march as empty, smiling machines without a voice.”

“As a community, we know what institutional and systemic exposure to premature death and violence means.
We know what it’s like to be ignored by the system — to be left to suffer and unprotected.
That’s why we stand here today for the 62 lost lives in Kochani — victims of systemic corruption.”

“For those still deluded: ‘the one percent’ — our trans sisters and brothers — are not your problem.
The real one percent are the rich who exploit us, the corrupt parties, and the greedy politicians.”

A Voice for Palestine

The protest concluded with Edi Frcovski reading a statement from the initiative All for Palestine:

“Today we are brought here by both pride and rage — by an acute awareness of the time we live in.
This Pride is not just a parade; it is a protest. Against homophobia and patriarchy — the foundations upon which capitalism rests, the cruel system that feeds on our suffering.
Against the imperialism that bombs Gaza — and at the same time persecutes us, queer people, across the world.”

“What’s happening in Gaza is not a ‘distant conflict.’
It’s horror, every single day — a people under occupation, in poverty, struggling to survive. Bombs are dropped on children. People die from hunger and thirst.
We must be loud and resolute: we are living in times of genocide.
These are crimes backed by the world’s most powerful forces — the same West that pretends to protect and represent our queer community.”

“We must be clear:
There is no queer liberation within a system that survives through imperialism and colonialism.”

VDzambaski

Instead of Euphoria — Solidarity and Resistance

In a time of growing hate, political neglect, and systemic violence, the sixth Skopje Pride took clear shape — a march of unity, solidarity, and resistance.
The message was unanimous: the streets are not just spaces of visibility, but of struggle — until justice, safety, and dignity become reality for all.

Photography: Vancho Dzambaski

The full photo album from Skopje Pride 2025 is available [here].