iman إيمان ইমান (they/she)

Celebrating the beauty of our diverse identities this International Lesbian Visibility Week, @alilbitofaith shares how different parts of her being—Muslim, Disabled, Nonbinary, Lesbian—have helped her feel at home in her body. . . . . #queermuslimsunplugged #lesbianvisibilityweek #lesbian #visibility #lgbtq #pride #selfacceptance #selflove

📺 Breaking News‼️ @ChronicallyC & I on @PBS Weekend @NewsHour ! The Disabled & Dating segment went live right before Valentine’s Day! #PBS #PBSNewsWeekend As I sit here tonight typing this up, C is in the ER. it’s been a little over a week since her birthday & a little more since Valentine’s Day. What if i told you she ended up at the ER right after Valentine’s Day last year? Her last chance to be seen at pediatrics before her birthday! that is the reality so many of us live separately within a life of chronic illness & Disability. Between the two of us we spend most of our lives together focused on medical care. living together after being together for 2 years. People would love to hear what obstacles we face. it’s only brought us closer. We don’t need to give people another reason to believe what so many assume. we fight against so much just by existing as we are. teaching us patience and understanding through caring for one another. Connecting with @ClaireMufson through @JacquelineeChild of @DateabilityApp (also included in this) brought such light to our lives in the midst of hard times. i had the chance to speak to Claire & keep in touch through her process as the producer. What was to be recorded as a FaceTime long distance date turned into a cameraman capturing us in person together sharing our story. At the end of June when we filmed, i was just starting to process recent traumatic events. this topic is already so vulnerable for so many of us. i appreciated the consideration within the sensitive subject and loved getting to connect with the people behind the making of the final product. doing it with c eased my nerves immensely. We were not expecting 3 minutes worth of footage of us in between lots of other community sharing their experiences together. We are honored and blessed to have gotten to represent some of the many intersectional identities between us both together. Being in the @NYTimes piece written @ByFortesa right after C & i just started dating i felt so out of place. that hasn’t changed a lot. more than anything so many have changed my life by sharing their stories & continue to so i hope to do the same for others out there ❤️‍🩹

A week ago I walked my first runway during @AsianNYFW for @AgniStyle x @WZN.Official ! To think 7 years ago I was in high school struggling to walk due to excruciating chronic pain, not sure where life would take me. Looking back after finding the incredible communities online who’ve brought me opportunities I could have never imagined I am so grateful to be here. It’s artists like @ItsNehalicious of @AgniStyle who have led me to dive into more creative outlets drawing inspiration from my culture. There are truly so many incredible Desi artists out there. Meeting @MalihaBhuiyan and representing @WZN.Official as a fellow Bangladeshi muslim. It was an honor to walk for two talented women whose work is clearly their pride and joy. To represent both artists and the love they have put into their art meant the world to me! I loved donning a dark, edgy look. Embodying the personification of fire. A stone cold heart at the center of my chest. As a giggly, softhearted #Desiabled being I enjoy stepping into a character with a stark difference to my own personality. Being a tiny Bengali at less than 5 feet tall I never expected to be here. Thank you @AsianNYFW for accommodating & including me. @Ailan_EdgeEva.MUA brought Neha’s vision artistic vision to life. @AymanVisuals_ captured me feeling most like myself than in a long time. Who knew I would feel most confident walking with a cane meant to show off? Instead of to be embarrassed of? Over the years, the Disabled community has shown me how to embrace being Disabled. #BabesWithMobilityAids Chronic and iconic ya know? all the Disabled models & fashion lovers out there who have taught me how to step into my power most of all. I can’t forget to mention @NeoWalkSticks who’ve been creating the perfect mobility aids to accessorize with any look. So blessed to have had my love @ChronicallyC with me throughout this whole process. Borrowing this beautiful cane for this unforgettable moment meant so much to me. Designer: @AgniStyle Accessories: @WZN.Official MUA: @Ailan_EdgeEva.MUA 📸🎥: @AymanVisuals_ Cane: @NeoWalkSticks #AgniArmy #AgniStyle #AsianNYFW #NYFW #NYFW2023 #NewYorkFashionWeek #NYFashionWeek #WearYourWZN

yesterday early in the morning while in bed getting ready for Eid…to go nowhere except to my follow up appt with the GI clinic. showed up all glam in my keffiyeh. Truthfully its been rough. ive been wiped out from severe chronic pain & lots of appointments so wasn’t planning to do anything. But put together a look that was comfy and easy and had @ChronicallyC tie my hair wrap as my hair is a total mess. too ill to do anything about it. C had offered to help do my makeup since i was feeling down & fatigued but i decided i needed to be with community so i got on here. was lovely to reconnect again. brought makeup to my bed to save energy. i felt really lost as i rarely dress up anymore. i couldn’t remember how to do makeup & was drained. i tried to make it work. C got home from her appt & was feeling quite ill. we tried to take some pics to document things but felt so weak. it just led to my usual Eid breakdown. i try to remember it’s still worth it in the future looking back but hard in the moment. later we had some desi food & i tried to enjoy that a bit. a surprise call from the lovely @Noura_Darling was a nice way to end the day after so many emotions. meeting other Disabled queer Muslims continues to save me. 🫂 i appreciate having a space this Ramadan & the past few years with queer Muslim community & chosen family. i always feel so much grief this time of year. being Disabled & chronically ill i have been blessed to connect with other Muslims who navigate feeling isolation & disconnect with not being able to/not feeling safe to fast. this Ramadan i had to focus on my health & participated less than i would like even in the few online spaces i have capacity for at times. i have spent a lot of time reflecting & learning to care for myself in a way that encompasses respect & support in regards to myself and others. i missed traditions i used to participate in and have been feeling really down about it all. i still tried to give myself space to celebrate as i felt called to. last Eid i went to my first in person queer Muslim Eid during Pride. inshallah i will have other experiences like that again. i miss the online ones as well 🩷💚

The kittens 1st Eid 🥹🌷 Eid Meowbarak 💕💚

Happy 1st birthday to the boys 🥹 our lil lucky kitties 🍀 the day before we brought them home at 8 weeks @ChronicallyC told me spontaneously that we were getting kittens! Two! Rockett and Storm have brought lots of chaos to our lives. Clawing and biting us to death. Knocking flower vases and boxes over, constantly trying to get outside. Lots of cuddles and biscuits. showing us all the love. Keeping us more sane ish. distracting us from the hard times. We spray them with water when they go for anything lol including the computer cables. They love to jump all over the keyboard. Lunging at my phone. Cuddling with their big sister. Meowing just for our attention, always tryna get into all our medical supplies. Sneaking into any tiny area they can find then getting trapped. Recently they tore a hole in their play pen. clearly they were over it lol. They would sneak out all the time before that too. Getting into all the mischief and then some. i could go on and on…ya know just cat behavior c is a total clown for picking this song lmao. Having kittens is having lots of chaos in the best way. blessed to have 2 more menaces in the family 🫶🏾

Another trip around the Sun 🌞 @LilSun.Draws 💛 Happy birthday my dear friend! Thank you for the lovely art you sent to @ChronicallyC & i recently and the sweet note 🥹 i have loved getting to see you create over the years. had to make some art with a few of the many things you’ve sent & made while we’ve known each other. Since we met we’ve spent sm time together on FaceTime. Getting ready, getting through our days, making art, yapping for hours. i love the different people you’ve introduced me to. the tarot readings. Sharing cultures. sharing queer Disabled joy. the adventures you take me on through the phone. you’ve been there through some of my toughest health days. i have a hard time letting anyone witness me through that & i appreciate you sm for holding me through sm of it even when i don’t know how to accept it. i have loved getting to see @BhumiLovers1111 and checking in on you both. navigating so many changes together. either spending time all the time or going long periods and still knowing you’re there. not something i take lightly at all. ( @Teddy.Ais.Kittens & bhumi meet up someday just wait) i still can’t believe that we met for less than 24 hours after you drove across canada to see me last minute the second you found out i was there. Still one of my fave memories, one of my favorite moments in the midst of all the tough things lately. blessed to know you and love you. You truly light up my life. will forever love your art & recognize your style immediately. can’t wait to make more memories, i look forward to watching you cook many more yummy meals, more ft car rides, & all the looks you’ll continue to create. (Always my favorite) forever here to cheer ya on & celebrate your existence. You make this world a better place 🦋 however you’re feeling know I’m here through it all. even from afar with disability life and things. can’t wait to make more art together & for all that is to come for us all. you mean sm to me truly. im here to call when you wake up if you wanna 🫂 ily

oh how i do love doing nothing with you @ChronicallyC 🫶🏾 we were such babies…4ever laughing with you 🤭 feels like i just met you, been through a decade of things together, & that ive known you my whole life all at once. i love you always🤞🏾Happy anniversary!

2016. 10 years later & im nowhere close to where i thought i would be. i mean that in oh so many ways. ❤️‍🩹 i never thought i would find out what was going on with me. it would get so much worse. and other parts would get so much better. not from a cure. i wouldn’t fully recover. id learn to manage. accept. grieve. feel all that comes with being chronically ill. i never thought i would find others going through this too. connect with people from all over. find community. chosen family. fall in love. no longer be fully alone in the journey. i was never the only one going through this. i was lied to. young people get sick too. i never thought i would find out i could have gotten help sooner. being diagnosed with one thing would lead to many others being dismissed. ignored. providers would tell me there were no treatments to help. nothing they could do. i would be blamed. for simply existing as a Disabled person. then finally believed. both equally terrifying. I never thought we would be in a global pandemic. find out people could understand and care if illness affected them directly. then i would watch them stop caring again. tell me they cant put their life on hold anymore. it hurts. i didn’t think i would feel so abandoned by this world. i never thought so much of my care would come with harm. that so many i felt close to would no longer be in my life. and thats for the better. so many do not know how to be around someone who isn’t healthy anymore. i am now sick in ways that cannot be ignored. i never thought i would move across the country. away from everything i knew. at a time when i was so unwell. leave what was familiar even as i was getting sicker. that scared me. but staying was scarier. i would realize i could be a little more free. what a privilege that was and continues to be. i never thought that i would no longer be able to recognize myself anymore. so much would be different with my body. my life. i wouldn’t remember what being healthy was like. barely able to remember the beginning of being sick either. what once was engrained in my brain. barely feels real to me. a distant memory.

happy birthday my loveee💝 here’s to many more years of you being distracted by dogs. pointing them out excitedly everywhere we go. whether right in front of us, on the screen, or outside the window. thank you for bringing so much love into my life & for showing me what i was missing by bringing Aisling & co. into my world! the kittens being the newest addition. i adore you & the love you have for every single one of em. i cannot wait for the others that have yet to join our lil family. i love you more than you love chocolate labs 💕

Would be so grateful for your help 🙏🏽 Like I said. I feel a difficulty in reaching for this now, when so many are reaching, but if we are reaching into eachothers pockets, perhaps we can keep eachothers hands warm, as well as passing on the fruits we are reaching for. I dearly need this to be shared, to be understood, to be absorbed, but overall I really need the care and the materials to keep myself rooted, because I'm at a time when I feel myself not withstanding the cold of the political climate, and after being someone who was so loud I felt everyone could hear me, now I feel very silent as I try and gather what I can, where I can. Grateful to all those who keep me held, and have kept me held, and hope this growth gets better, easier and more dark on the page for us all. Mutual aid is the essential core of the divestment from individualised pain we've been forced into. Bugs'n'Liberation. https://gofund.me/1382051cd (IN BIO) Yaz x #gofundme #trans #future #liberated #surgery

(you are) forever my always 💌💋 @ChronicallyC