Naz and Matt Foundation

Naz and Matt Foundation is a charity based in the United Kingdom that tackles homophobia triggered by religious and cultural beliefs.

Naz and Matt Foundation
MottoBe the person you were born to be
Formation2014
TypeNGO
Legal statusCharity,[1]
PurposeLGBT rights
Websitewww.nazandmattfoundation.org

The organisation was established in 2014 following the death of Dr Nazim Mahmood,[2] by his long term fiancé Matthew Ogston.[3]

The primary objective of the charity is to "tackle homophobia triggered by religion to help parents accept their children". The Foundation campaigns in the national media and give talks in schools and universities. They provide support to LGBTQI individuals and their family to help resolve challenges linked to sexuality, gender identity and religion.

Current work

Naz and Matt Foundation have a schools programme for secondary schools and are UK publishers of a children's book, Salim's Secret.[4]

The charity has delivered school talks in the UK, including Bradford, Birmingham, Leeds, London, Oldham and York focusing on the importance for parents and families to accept their relatives regardless of their sexuality or gender identity.[5]

Founder Matthew Mahmood-Ogston has campaigned in the local,[6] national[7][8] and international press to raise awareness of the dangers of homophobia triggered by religious or cultural belief. And more recently calling for the criminalisation of 'gay cure therapy',[9] also known as Conversion therapy.

In April 2015, the Foundation led by Matthew marched 150 miles[10] from London to Birmingham to raise awareness about what happened to Dr Nazim Mahmood, and the dangers of homophobia if not tackled within families and religious communities.

In 2017, English folk group The Young'uns released a new song called "Be the Man"[11], on their album "Strangers", documenting the love story of Naz and his fiancé Matt, whom the charity was named after.

In 2018 and 2019 the Foundation worked with actress Bhavna Limbachia and UK TV soap Coronation Street to support a high profile storyline featuring the programme's first ever lesbian Muslim character, Rana Habeeb and her onscreen romantic relationship with Kate Connor (played by Faye Brookes) [12][13]. The storyline was inspired by the story of what happened to Dr Nazim Mahmood (Matt's fiancé) [14]

Awards
  • Shortlisted for a British LGBT Awards, 'Top 10 Charity or Community Initiative' (2019)[15]
  • Awarded the True Honour Award for "Outstanding Organisation Tackling 'Honour' Based Violence" by the Kurdish Women's Rights Organization (IKWRO) (2019)[16]
  • Shortlisted for the "Upstanding Organisation Award" at the No2H8 Crime Awards, organised by Tell MAMA (2017)[17]
  • Awarded the JCI 'Ten outstanding young persons' award for 'Cultural Achievement' (2016)[18]
  • Founder, Matthew Mahmood-Ogston, voted the sixth 'most influential lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender person in Britain' (2015)[19]
  • Awarded the Attitude Pride Award for 'building bridges between religious and LGBT communities (2015)'[20]
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See also

References
  1. Charity Commission. Naz and Matt Foundation, registered charity no. 1160694.
  2. "My boyfriend killed himself because his family couldn't accept that he was gay". The Guardian.
  3. "About Naz and Matt Foundation". Naz and Matt Foundation.
  4. Salim's Secret. Amazon UK. ASIN 1999847903.
  5. "Tackling religious homophobia with the Naz and Matt Foundation". The Co-operative Academy of Leeds.
  6. "Fiancé of doctor driven to suicide calls on homophobic communities to 'open their eyes'". Ham and High.
  7. "Asian And Gay: Doctor Was Driven To His Death". Sky News.
  8. "Naz Mahmood death: Support group for gay Asians created". BBC News.
  9. "The petition to end 'Gay Conversion Therapy in the UK". Cities of London & Westminster Labour Party. Archived from the original on 2017-12-23. Retrieved 2017-12-23.
  10. "The Journey To Find Acceptance - ITV News Interview". ITV News.
  11. "Be the Man (the story of Naz and Matt)". The Young'uns.
  12. "Rana kidnapped by her family next week – Bhavna Limbachia reveals all". Radio Times.
  13. "Bhavna Limbachia and Matt Mahmood-Ogston interviewed on BBC Breakfast TV". BBC Breakfast (YouTube).
  14. "A gay Muslim who took his own life has inspired a Coronation Street storyline". iNews.
  15. "Shortlisted for a British LGBT Award". Diva Magazine.
  16. "True Honour Award for "Outstanding Organisation Tackling 'Honour' Based Violence"". IKWRO.
  17. "Shortlisted for "Upstanding Organisation Award" by No2H8 Crime Awards". Tell MAMA.
  18. "JCI award for 'Cultural Achievement'". JCI United Kingdom.
  19. "The Rainbow List 2015: A celebration of pioneers and influencers". The Independent on Sunday.
  20. "Awarded the Attitude Pride Award for 'building bridges between religious and LGBT communities'". Attitude Magazine.
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