I find my mom weeping in the middle of the night and praying to God to cure me.

I have been suffering in my own apartment for four years.

Something terrible is happening in this Iranian family.

She threatens to set the house on fire if I kick this girl out.

I'm scared that she will harm herself.

Yes, she is scared of me.

If you live in Iran, your sex frames your everyday life.

Not just which toilet to use, but also whether you are allowed to show your hair in public,

go out on a bicycle, take a specific course at

university and you might even need permission to go on holiday.

Me Tars am bizarrely, I'm scared she might leave home.

I left home twice, but I had nowhere to stay, so I came back.

We've never had something like this in our family.

Girl with girl, I don't know why my kids got this problem.

Here if you openly admit to being gay, the full forces of state and religion calm down on your

head with violent and catastrophic results. Families self-destruct, society shames.

So all the names and voices you are hearing have been changed.

Only the words remain the same.

And of course me, Leila

Jodabakhshi.

I was about 11 to 12 when I first fell for a woman.

She was my personal trainer. I told my cousin, but she joked that I was a Hamgen's boss, a faggot.

...