On 30th July, 2014, my fiancé and eternal soulmate Naz (Dr Nazim Mahmood) sadly took his own life, two days after his religious family confronted him about this sexuality. 

It was the first time that they had heard about our 13-year relationship and our plans to marry. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvg7N_tlRng

My boyfriend killed himself because his family couldn’t accept that he was gay

To raise awareness of these issues and to help fund a range of special projects and initiatives with the aim of changing attitudes and increasing acceptance of gay, lesbian and trans young people born into religious families, and to offer support to LGBTQI individuals affected by the issue, I will doing a 130 mile sponsored journey, mostly walked, from London to Birmingham.

"The Journey to Find Acceptance” will be spread over 8 days, starting on the 18th of April. I will be joined by friends on the journey, and I am inviting members of the public to join with me to walk part of the route, to help me ‘carry a message of love and acceptance along the way’.

"I will be engaging with religious communities along the journey to gauge public opinion on acceptance should their own children come out as being gay.” 

If you would like to join me for the start of the journey on Saturday 18th April in London, or for the final leg in Birmingham on Saturday 25th April, you may find full details of the journey on this page.