orchi lohani

orchi lohani (neutral/no pronouns/they) is an organizer, writer, trainer and artist in chronic pain. in life, orchi tries to work towards building a safe(r) world for those most marginalized in the present context, through structural change. in their work, orchi is rooted in their own experiences as a queer* and ‘disabled’ person growing up in dhaka and existing as a migrant in present-day “european union”.

orchi started working as a trainer during their time at kaan pete roi (kpr), bangladesh’s first emotional support and suicide prevention helpline, working through mental health support and intersectional anti-discrimination. since then, they have taken on many different roles as community member, organizer, writer, activist, academic, researcher, editor, interpreter, consultant, moderator, facilitator, caregiver, creative and educator.

orchi is passionate about working with political justice, gender, sexuality, queer* and trans* liberation, disability justice and accessibility, mental health and care, anti-imperialism, digital security and safety, healing and harm reduction. to orchi, the intersections of anti-racism–anti-ableism–anti-cissexism are all connected under neo-colonialism, imperialism and capitalism. as such, they are aiming to center those most oppressed (as in people from the global south, indigenous people, and working class people) in their praxis as much as possible. orchi got their masters degree in gender studies with a specialization in ‘intersectional analysis’, accredited through budapest (hungary), vienna (austria) and new york (usa). they are now based in vienna, austria and frequently travel. Besides idj, they are currently working through the collective ‘gyenjam’ which works with the political tools of food, music, art and community by and for “queer” people of colour.

orchi is open to working with non-profits, institutions, organizations, collectives and groups on a sliding scale. for any questions, consultation, collaboration, etc, please contact: orchi.ahana@gmail.com

*the asterisk denotes that ‘queer’ and ‘trans’ are universalized words that do not apply to everyone and to do so, rather homogenizes them through further erasure. queer is also not limited to sexual orientation, but rather a political identity of disruption.

please refer to orchi with no pronouns (address them with their name or contextual gesture) or neutral in all languages as much as possible.