OPINION: Children must be taught about LGBT+ issues in school

by Hussain Chaudhry | The Proud Trust
Tuesday, 28 May 2019 08:57 GMT

Schoolchildren wait in the rain for the arrival of Britain's Queen Elizabeth at the National Memorial to the Few in Folkestone, southern England March 26, 2015 in Folkestone, England. REUTERS/Chris Jackson/Pool

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* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

It is important to show kids in an age-appropriate way that it is OK to be yourself and love who you want

Hussain Chaudhry is supporter of the Proud Trust and a community activist from Manchester 

The media has been flooded by the recent protests in the passing of the new Relationships and Sex Education in Schools (England) bill. 

The bill, which details how relationships and sex education will be taught in English schools, has run into controversy over the inclusion of information about LGBT+ people.

Watching it from my own standpoint, I am shocked by the utter ignorance that still exists. For me, the protests stem from our growing isolation in society. 

We live in bubbles and echo chambers and we’re often not exposed to viewpoints different. At some point however, we have to look at what kind of society we want to be. I can’t help but feel that education is the key to giving people the knowledge to be autonomous and decide who they wish to be and how they wish to live their lives. 

I still find it hard to believe in 2019, that people believe that limiting a child’s experience will help create a better world and a happier society. Surely limiting children's experiences, which is the aim of the majority of protestors, limits the child.

I don't want any scared child to think it is wrong to express their love with whomever they wish. When I look back, that is who I was. 

I have been through suicide, depression, bullying, homophobia, racist attacks, workplace discrimination and more as an adult. I just wish as a young boy I had been given the education and the chance to listen and learn. Today, I can’t quite stress how important it is to show kids in an age-appropriate way that it is OK to be yourself and love who you want. 

However, after the widespread coverage of the protests in the English cities of Birmingham and Manchester over information about same-sex relationships being taught in schools, I have read many articles that are unhelpfully labelling a whole community as homophobic.

But we aren't a homogenous group. Of course there are some who are homophobic, but there are people who don’t like LGBT+ people in every part of British society.

My parents have been nothing but supportive since I came out, and they are practicing Muslims. However, I have friends whose parents who are atheists yet rejected them for being LGBT+.

Society needs an open and honest discussion.

Yet it is difficult to do this when we demonise Muslims. How are we going to educate those within the Muslim community who are ignorant over the issue of LGBT+ rights if they fear being called homophobic?

There are plenty of Muslims who support gay and transgender people, but we just don't hear about them. Why do we always focus on the homophobia of the Muslim community, yet no one talks about the racism so ingrained among LGBT+ people – and Islamophobia present in the wider society?

Children need to be given the knowledge to make their own choices and to do so in a healthy way. By not educating them, we do more harm in not preparing them for life and the world in which we live. Failing to teach children about the facts of life will continue this cycle of ignorance.

To all parents out there, irrespective of your creed, stop and think of your child. You love them and you want the best for them, but how can you do that if you do not allow them to understand the world in which they will grow up?

As a child I have been through my own battles between these two cultures. Do not let your child go through the same process. Enable them to be able to make their own choices and even if they do not identify as LGBT+, enable them to be understanding human beings.

You have surely faced discrimination and hate yourself. Allow your child to grow up in a more tolerant and understanding world.

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