Ibtisam Ahmed / Bangladesh, United Kingdom
“I live in the UK as a queer immigrant of colour, and I regularly attend protests and demonstrations. It’s a privilege I didn’t have back home because of how unsafe it is for people to be openly queer – it is still illegal to have a homosexual relationship and local gender diverse communities like Hijra have only nominal rights. But protesting here is a strange experience, because a large part of homophobia back home is entrenched through colonial norms as part of a former british colony. It is an unnerving navigation of being out in the country that made me illegal in the first place. I am lucky to not only be safe here but also to be out and accepted by my family, but I am so angry at the histories of oppression that force so many of us to hide or risk our lives. I continue to fight and hope that one day we can reach a utopia of love and acceptance.”
