Birmingham Gay Symphony Orchestra is one of only three LGBTQ+ orchestras in the UK and is made up of musicians who identify as LGBTQ+ and heterosexual/straight allies. The orchestra provides…
A gay Muslim who took his own life has inspired a Coronation Street storyline
“A Coronation Street actress took inspiration for her role from the real-life story of a gay Muslim man committing suicide in 2014. Bhavna Limbachia plays Coronation Street’s first openly gay…
Actress Shelley King gives her support to Naz and Matt Foundation
The Coronation Street actress recently gave her support to Naz and Matt Foundation during a live broadcast of ITV’s This Morning (April 18th 2018). In the hit British soap Shelley plays…
Coronation Street’s Bhavna Limbachia: Lesbian storyline aims to educate people
Coronation Street star Bhavna Limbachia has said the Kana (Kate + Rana) storyline is not there to offend people but to educate and spark conversation. The actress is playing the…
Matt and Bhavna Limbachia on BBC Breakfast talking Corrie and religious homophobia
Coronation Street’s Bhavna Limbachia and Matt were invited in to talk about the hard-hitting Rana + Kate storyline currently in the soap, and its connection to the work being done…
BBC Asian Network’s Qasa Alom interviews Matt about ‘coming out’ to religious parents
What should a young gay person do if they struggling to ‘coming out’ their family?
His boyfriend of 13 years committed suicide – now he’s fighting back
I talk to Gay Star News about losing my darling Naz, the impact of honour based abuse on the LGBTQI+ community, and our Foundation’s recent work with the incredible charity…
Advice for parents struggling to accept their LGBTQI+ children – BBC Asian Network
BBC Asian Network invited me in to talk about our progress over the last four years since my darling Naz passed away. What have we been doing? How has our…
Matt delivers keynote talk at University of Birmingham Medical School event
As part of LGBTHistoryMonth 2018 I am proud, and incredibly humbled to be invited by the University of Birmingham Medical School (where my darling Naz trained to be a doctor) to deliver…
Muslim Pride
Muslim PRIDE details the struggles faced every day by LGBTQI+ Muslims who are often at times unable to come out to their own parents and communities.
Walsall College celebrates Equality and Diversity Week with Naz and Matt Foundation
Walsall College invited Naz and Matt Foundation in to deliver three talks to their students as part of their 2018 Equality and Diversity Week. The week-long event took place at…
Documenting a celebration of life – Lisa Bretherick
Professional portrait photographer Lisa Bretherick talks about her work documenting Naz’s memorial service held three weeks after he passed away. Her incredibly moving photographs have since been exhibited multiple times…
Salim’s Secret now available – An illustrated LGBTQI+ children’s book
We are incredibly pleased, and proud, to announce that we are the official UK publishers of the UK Edition of Salim’s Secret. This beautiful children’s book that tells the story…
‘Marriages of Convenience’ in the LGBTQI Community – BBC Radio WM
Why do some individuals who identify as LGBTQI feel like they have no choice but to hide their sexuality and get married to ‘please’ their family? As part of the…
‘Marriages of Convenience’ in the LGBTQI Community – BBC Look North
Why do some individuals who identify as LGBTQI feel like they have no choice but to hide their sexuality and get married to ‘please’ their family? BBC Look North investigates ‘marriages…
Voices: Transgender and Muslim
I have known I was born into the wrong body for a long time and still have a long way to go until I become the person I am on the inside, externally.
‘Be The Man’, the love story of Naz and Matt [official video]
Be the Man was shortlisted for the “Best Original Track of 2017” at the BBC Folk Awards. The the album it the song is featured on, “Strangers”, won Best Folk…
Matt meets folk group The Young’uns, who wrote song about Naz and Matt [video]
In August 2017, Teesside folk group The Young’uns embarked on a journey to meet the people who inspired the songs on their forthcoming album, Strangers. “In the first video in…
‘Pray the Gay Away’ [video]
Earlier this year we backed a campaign to petition the government to criminalise ‘Gay Cure Therapy’. However before it reached its target of 100,000 signatures to trigger a parliamentary debate,…
Foundation meets with UK Home Secretary and presents case for criminalising ‘Gay Cure Therapy’
Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet face-to-face with the UK Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, at Karma Nirvana’s offices in the north of England. The Home Secretary was visiting Leeds…
Support group for religious Parents and LGBTQI+ individuals
Welcome to our face-to-face support group, created to help bring Parents and LGBTQI+ (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, trans, queer/questioning and intersex) individuals, from religious and faith backgrounds, closer together… one of…
Naz remembered: 3 Years in darkness
My darling Naz was remembered on 30th July 2017, 5:23pm, three years to the day that Naz joined the angels, with a peaceful sunflower ceremony in which we decorated his…
Matt recites Honourlogue of Naz and Matt at National Day of Memory in Leeds
In a packed hall in the middle of Leeds the silence was deafening. The ‘Day of Memory’ had arrived and its importance was being felt by the attendees in the…
Multi-award winning folk band Young’uns release song documenting story of Naz & Matt
Naz always wanted to go to Glastonbury, but we never quite made it there before my darling sadly passed away. Then along comes a stranger with a beautiful kind heart,…
Gay Collective Magazine Interviews Matt about future plans for the Foundation
Gay Collective, a new digital magazine for the gay community, interviewed Founder of Naz and Matt Foundation, Matthew Mahmood-Ogston about why the Foundation was setup, its day to day challenges…
Foundation delivers keynote IDAHOT speech at event for global consultancy
Matt was invited to the deliver the opening keynote speech at Capgemini’s 2017 International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) conference in Telford, UK. Jointly hosted by the HMRC, the…
Pride in London 2017: March with us to help stop religious and cultural homophobia
Update: We have now reached capacity for our marching group. Thank you everyone that has signed up. We will shortly be sending out an email with details for meeting. Please…
Birmingham Pride 2017: March with us & help stop religious and cultural homophobia
March with us on Saturday 27th May as we march through Birmingham to help end religious and cultural homophobia, and to support the campaign to criminalise gay cure therapy. As we…
Channel4 TV show Ackley Bridge consults with Naz and Matt Foundation
Producers of the hit TV show ask Naz and Matt Foundation to advise on their Muslim lesbian storyline.
House of Lords Speech
Naz and Matt Foundation gives speech at the House of Lords about the dangers of religious and cultural homophobia, and ‘gay cure therapy/abuse’