Queer Kazakh-Arabian Adil envisions Hong Kong as his second home where it is free from racism, sexism, and LGBTphobia. Having recently embarked on his journey to social justice, he hopes to eliminate the stigma surrounding sex and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) through promoting sexual education.

After spending 5 years studying and living in Hong Kong, Adil considers the city more accepting than his home country as a gay Muslim. However, through first-hand experience dealing with everyday racism – from getting bad-mouthed by locals on the street in Cantonese to witnessing the unfair treatment faced by migrant domestic workers, he is devoted to becoming a changemaker in building a more fair and just society, where future generation would stand up for their freedom and rights.

To Adil, a major part of education and learning is through peer-sharing and sparking conversations. He hopes to educate the public and build a space for inclusive sex education with adequate, quality tools and resources. Although he believes he is just a beginner on his social justice journey, he is invested in exploring more opportunities in developing peer-resource groups and sex education classes in Hong Kong, so that everyone can openly discuss STDs, contraception, and stigma towards sex. He believes everyone should have access to the resources in school or outside of school.

Through the Fellowship, Adil is keen to learn about goal-setting and look at current social issues through a local lens. He wishes to build peer learning networks, and learn from mentors and other fellows on race- and gender-related issues from a grassroots perspective.

Adil is currently working as a Community Coordinator at the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. He has engaged with Queer Straight Alliance to curate educational content for their communication channels. Outside of work, he is also a drag queen taking part in a drag collective, DragJam, which organizes drag shows to promote gender diversity.

In his free time, Adil loves drag, quizzing, and playing board games.