Ahead of the Queer Britain x SAHM event Desi Lesbians: The Pioneering Women, DIVA spoke to the inspirational trailblazers who will be speaking about the power of representation
BY ELLA GAUCI
On 4 August, Queer Britain and South Asian Heritage Month (SAHM) will be hosting a ground-breaking event which brings together four game-changers within the UK’s South Asian LGBTQIA community. One of these trailblazers is Anjum, a Trustee of Queer Britain, the UK’s first and only LGBTQIA museum. Anjum is also a Board Member of Imaan, a charity dedicated to ensuring that no LGBTQIA Muslim person in Britain feels excluded from their family, faith, or community.
With a professional background as a trainer and management consultant specializing in domestic and sexual abuse, as well as equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), Anjum is currently a Lead Trainer working with the NSPCC and Red Snapper Learning. Previously, she served as the Director of the London Black Women’s Project, a national initiative supporting women and girls fleeing violence and abuse.
DIVA spoke to Anjum to learn more about her impactful career and unwavering commitment to advocacy and social justice.
What does this year’s SAHM theme – Free To Be Me – mean to you?
I think the freedom to be oneself really authentically and truly takes so much. Our authentic selves take from us a level of honesty from ourselves, and for some people that is harder for them than for others. At this point in my life, it’s a lovely thing to hear the phrase “Free To Be Me”. I am a lesbian, I am a Muslim, and I am a mother. I cannot suppress any of those identities. They’re such a salient part of my identity. In order to have that Free To Be Me, there had to be a real understanding of all of the things I am and all the things I could be.
Imaan does such amazing work. How did you get involved with Imaan? And why is that space so important for LGBTQIA Muslims?
Imaan started in 1999 and it started from this question: am I the only one? The situation is very complex, and it’s complex for me personally and it’s complex politically. I grew up in a Muslim family so I know some of the invisibilization. Muslims in the UK are under threat from an increasingly hostile environment. Muslims are disproportionately put in a negative light. It’s really critical that organisations like Imaan start. We just celebrated our first Muslim Imaan Pride and we had 300 people show up. I cannot tell you the joy and excitement of that event.
When you were growing up did you feel like you had queer South Asian role models to look up to?
No. I didn’t. I felt very alone and isolated. I knew very early on that I liked girls. I knew nobody else. It took a long time to come out to my family. I come from a wonderful family and I didn’t want to upset them or be rejected by them. I am privileged in the sense that that hasn’t happened.
What is the impact of not having that representation for your generation?
If you can’t see it, how can you be it? Lesbian and gay people have been invisibilized to such a large extent. My child came back from school with some of their friends and they were chatting away in the hallway. One of their pals said “Where’s your dad?” and my child replied, “I’ve not got a dad I’ve got two mums.” And I heard this loud wail, and thought “Oh god is this the ugly face of discrimination at 6 years old.” Until I heard this “That’s not fair, I wish I had two mums.” It made me so emotional because it really made me think about how times have changed, and I knew that everyone was going to be fine.
What can people expect from this amazing event?
The speakers on that panel are themselves absolutely incredible and have such a rich history in terms of their contribution and what they bring to our culture and communities. They have been extraordinarily visible in the work they have done.
Desi Lesbians: The Pioneering Women will take place on Sunday 4 August at 1 pm at Queer Britain, 2 Granary Square, King’s Cross, London, N1C 4BH. The event will include a screening of Discovering Kali followed by a panel discussion and Q&A session. Book your tickets at: eventbrite.co.uk/e/desi-lesbians-the-pioneering-women
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