Fiancé of gay Asian doctor who killed himself after being told by mother to seek ‘cure’ shares loss
Campaigners are raising awareness of the difficulties of being LGBT in Britain’s Asian communities, following the inquest into the death of Doctor Nazim Mahmood.
St Pancras Coroners’ Court heard that just days before he died, Dr Mahmood had come out to his Muslim mother after years of secrecy – only for her to urge him to seek a “cure”.
Dr Mahmood’s fiancé and partner of 13 years, Matthew Ogston, told the inquest: “She had suggested to him he needed to see a psychiatrist to see if he could be cured. Together I think they agreed they would get through it.
“Telling someone they needed to be cured would not be the easiest thing to take.”
Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, Mr Ogston said: “The reaction was underwhelming and also surprising – the reaction was to basically ask him to see a psychiatrist to find a cure.
“When he asked ‘why do I need to find a cure, there’s nothing wrong with me, I’m just a good person trying to live a good life,’ that must have created such a sadness within Naz.
“I only wish I’d had longer to have spoken to Naz, to try and talk things through and just tell him it would be okay.”
Some Asian parents force their gay sons and daughters into marriages in the mistaken belief that heterosexual sex will “cure” them.
Detective Sergeant Trudi Runham is one of West Midlands Police’s most experienced officers dealing with the issue.
Her Team Sentinel unit has rescued gay men from forced marriages. She told Sky News the number of cases is increasing.
“Nationally 20% of referrals for forced marriages are men. And we know that some of those are gay men,” she said.
