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An activist, who was the first Muslim woman to lead a Pride parade in Britain, says her mission in life is \u201cto promote the inclusivity of sexuality and gender\u201d.<\/p>\n
The PA news agency is interviewing a series of people celebrating Pride Month in June, including Saima Razzaq, 38, from Birmingham.<\/p>\n
Ms Razzaq is the director of change and communications at Birmingham Pride, and she uses her platform as part of the LGBT+, South Asian, and Muslim communities to carve out a space within the intersection.<\/p>\n
Ms Razzaq, who is a lesbian but also uses the queer umbrella to describe her sexuality, became the first Muslim woman to lead a Pride parade in Britain at Birmingham Pride in 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeading Pride was a monumental moment and obviously now I work at Pride as a result of that,\u201d Ms Razzaq told PA.<\/p>\n
After taking part in the Birmingham Pride Parade on May 27 this year, Ms Razzaq said she will be talking to and working with the community in the city for the remainder of Pride Month.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, the thing is about getting into conversations within my own community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about organising and working with the everyday communities of Birmingham, and taking them on this journey and working towards, \u2018what can we do next?’\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 When did you \u2018come out\u2019 and how did your family respond?<\/p>\n
Ms Razzaq said her mother approached her about her sexuality when she was 29 while they were driving to pick up a takeaway.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe made me drive and she waited until we were on a dual carriageway and said, \u2018do you like women?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018oh my god, why now?\u2019,\u201d Ms Razzaq recalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince that moment, I\u2019ve seen a massive change in my mum. Now, she\u2019s changing her language.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Razzaq added she looks up to members of her family, and she regards them as her \u201csuperheroes\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople look up to influences and all these famous people, I don\u2019t, I look up to my aunties and uncle \u2013 they\u2019re my superheroes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though my aunties and my uncle might not understand my queerness, they\u2019re there.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cFaith is really important for me, and just because I\u2019m queer, doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m not Muslim, and they\u2019ve not othered me for that either.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgain, I think it\u2019s really important for me to have this supportive family to allow me the space to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 What is your relationship with your faith?<\/p>\n
Ms Razzaq said her faith helps her to \u201cdo better\u201d and to \u201cfulfil her mission in life\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a Muslim, I have a relationship with God, I feel very connected with God, like right now, I feel the most connected I\u2019ve ever been.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cThe Koran tells me to focus on where I am and the people I\u2019m surrounded with and to do better and to fulfil my mission in life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel my mission in life is to promote the inclusivity of sexuality and gender.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a really positive thing happening in Birmingham, and in time, Insha\u2019Allah, the wider world will see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Have you experienced any hate or abuse since coming out?<\/p>\n
Ms Razzaq said that while everyone is \u201chappy\u201d for her in regards to her sexuality, she receives \u201cfar more Islamophobia and racism\u201d for being a woman of colour in a leadership position.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is really happy for me to be queer, but when I suddenly say, \u2018yes I\u2019m also Pakistani\u2019, \u2018I\u2019m also Muslim\u2019, and \u2018I\u2019m proud of those intersections\u2019, it\u2019s a narrative that people aren\u2019t that familiar with,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople aren\u2019t used to that side of the story. I get far more Islamophobia and racism for being a woman of colour in leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Razzaq said she has been the victim of several hate crimes, including someone urinating on her bed on the narrow boat where she lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had my car stolen, for example, in a really horrific way, I\u2019ve had people urinate in my bed on my boat, I\u2019ve had horrible calls.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that she \u201cdoesn\u2019t need anybody to judge my Muslimness\u201d, and she finds that it\u2019s those who are not of the faith that tend to judge her more.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd actually, it\u2019s non-Muslims who will judge my Muslimness more than Muslims,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur communities will work through things, but we need everyone else to allow us the space to work through things as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 What are the challenges within the intersections of faith and queerness?<\/p>\n
Ms Razzaq said \u201cit isn\u2019t easy\u201d for those in faith communities to bring up the subject of queerness, but she said she has noticed more people in South Asian communities coming out.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone will have difficulty bringing in the subject of queerness because it has been so polarised.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt isn\u2019t easy for most people in faith settings, and I think it\u2019s really important that we reclaim this narrative.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019ve noticed since I\u2019ve come out is, and that\u2019s just within the circle I\u2019m part of, I\u2019ve seen other South Asians come out, and their parents support them in that journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
On what advice she would give to someone in a faith setting who wished to come out, she said: \u201cThe most important thing to remember is that you\u2019re valid, you\u2019re absolutely valid.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour queerness or your gender identity is absolutely valid, be your authentic self.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are people like you, and for me, finding other queer South Asians, other queer Muslims, has been the best part of my journey.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines email An activist, who was the first Muslim woman to lead a Pride parade in Britain, says her mission in life is \u201cto promote the inclusivity of sexuality and gender\u201d. The PA news agency is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n