“It was around the time my son completed his master’s in medicine that I insisted on looking for a girl to get him married to. A couple of times later, he said he did not want to. I didn’t think too much about it, but he came back and kept showing me pictures of other men. One day, I asked him why he didn’t show me pictures of women and that’s when he opened up to me. He told me he didn’t want to get married at that moment as he is a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Initially, I had no understanding of the community, so he had to sit me down and explain what it meant. Neither the background that we come from nor our family understood or accepted his ideology. For a long, my son kept asking me why I didn’t react but I went numb every time he spoke about it. I wanted to take my time to understand and come to terms with it, which I believe, is absolutely justified. At the same time, my son was worried if I was accepting of him or if it was affecting me in any way. But I just couldn’t lie to him or myself and say that I was okay. I began to search ‘How to treat homosexuality’ on Google. I also told him I would take him to a psychologist. He actually accompanied me and the psychologist explained to me that it was absolutely normal. Post the session, my son told me how he’d be proud of me the day I stood up for him and his community. I think that was the moment that truly made me accept and support him. Of course, there’s some resistance from family and friends. But he is my son! What could be more important than him and his life to me? There was no reason for me to let go of him. I’m going to stand by him till the end. If parents don’t support their children, nobody will. If they can’t look at us for help, who will they look at? It’s time we take responsibility for letting our children live the lives they wish to. After all, we must live our lives with inclusivity and happiness.”