We wanted to create an atmosphere where you are welcome and can be what you want to be…free from preconceived notions,” Parataj James, co-founder of Habitat Inc, is clear why he thought of creating co-living space for the LBGTQ+ community.
James, a queer man himself, says he has seen members of the LGBTQ+ community face discrimination while hunting for a house, or even flatly being denied accommodation. Habitat Inc wants to ensure every person, especially same-sex couples and transgenders, are able to secure a roof over their heads.
If you look different, the society or the neighbours have hundreds of questions. If you do get an accommodation, there’s unsaid norms you strictly need to follow like act in a certain way, carry in a certain way,” James says on the struggles of LGBTQ+ community.
Founded by Ankith Narayan, Murari Kumar Raja and Parataj James, Hyderabad-based Habitat Inc is pitched as India’s first co-living space for the LGBTQ+ community. For James, it’s more of an “initiative and less of a product”. “We want to ensure that it is inclusive and not exclusive, so everybody can stay together,” he explains. The larger message is that “we can live together and we can live harmoniously.”
