32 Facts About Shaneel Lal

Shaneel Lal was born in Nausori, Fiji to a mixed iTaukei and Girmitiya family on 22 January 2000.

Shaneel Lal comes from a Hindu family and was raised in a Hindu and Muslim community.

Shaneel Lal experienced conversion therapy as a challenge to their indigeneity and relationships with their ancestors.

Shaneel Lal argues that prior to colonisation, vakasalewalewa were integral to native Fijian society, and that colonisation and Christianity stripped Fijians of their rich queer identities and conditioned them with homophobia and transphobia.

In 2014, Shaneel Lal moved to New Zealand with their family.

Shaneel Lal joined Otahuhu College and was named dux in 2018.

When Shaneel Lal refused, the church leader wished hell upon them.

Shaneel Lal founded the Conversion Therapy Action Group in 2019 to work towards ending conversion therapy in New Zealand.

Shaneel Lal worked with the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand to deliver a petition of over more than 150,000 signatures to ban conversion therapy.

Shaneel Lal criticised the Bill, calling it an "inadequate bill that fails to ban the practice or compensate the victims".

Shaneel Lal argued that the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill would not allow the police to prosecute offenders and would allow conversion therapy to continue.

Shaneel Lal claimed that this was "an astounding commitment" because at that point, Labour hadn't done foundational work towards their goal.

Shaneel Lal argued that the Labour Party ignored the voices of queer people and put forward an inadequate and ineffective Bill after the select committee process.

Shaneel Lal stated that it was "disheartening" that the bill only protected children and did not include Accident Compensation Corporation coverage for mental harm.

Nonetheless, Shaneel Lal said that New Zealand's ban on conversion therapy is a win for humanity, not just the queer community, and asserted that queer rights are human rights.

Shaneel Lal stated that they received a death threat after the passing of the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill.

Shaneel Lal told VICE World News that the ban on conversion therapy is a gift to future generations of queer people.

Vogue wrote that "Shaneel Lal's call for New Zealand to reform the laws around conversion therapy have made a major impact".

In 2022, Shaneel Lal shared an article to their Instagram detailing how Bethlehem College in Tauranga requires all students and their families to demonstrate a commitment to the belief that marriage is only between a man and a woman.

Shaneel Lal started a petition calling for the Education Review Office to launch an independent investigation into Bethlehem College and for the Ministry of Education, the Minister of Education and the Associate Ministers of Education to support the investigation.

Shaneel Lal says the blanket ban on gay blood donation rules out people who could safely donate blood but who are not allowed to because they are gay.

In February 2023, Shaneel Lal advocated for New Zealand Blood Service and Medsafe to use individualised donor behaviour criteria to determine eligibility of blood donors.

In May 2023, Shaneel Lal said that New Zealand Blood Services had sufficient international evidence demonstrating it was safe to use individualised risk assessment to determine donor eligibility.

Shaneel Lal believes that the blanket ban on gay men giving blood should be removed.

In 2022, Shaneel Lal launched a petition calling the Labour Party to protect queer people, women and disabled people from hate speech.

Shaneel Lal is calling on the Pacific Islands to decriminalise homosexuality.

At the 2021 Auckland Pride March, Shaneel Lal confronted anti-queer Christian protestors.

In 2023, Shaneel Lal helped organise a counter-protest of a women's rights rally organised by the British anti-transgender activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull in Auckland.

Shaneel Lal advised the Minister of Education, Chris Hipkins for three years as a member of the Minister's youth advisory group.

Shaneel Lal has served as a Global Youth Leader for Open Government Partnership.

In 2019, Shaneel Lal was selected by Jenny Salesa to represent Manukau East in the New Zealand Youth Parliament.

In 2020, Shaneel Lal was a finalist for Mr Gay New Zealand, a competition run by Express Magazine.