A gay man’s struggle for acceptance in the Sikh community

Kuljit Bhogal started to lose clumps of hair through stress after coming out as gay.

He says the Sikh Punjabi community struggles with anything other than a traditional family model.

While Sikhism has no teachings on sexual orientation, and neither does the holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, refer to homosexuality, some gay Sikhs feel their culture is prejudiced against them, says Kuljit.

The psychiatrist-turned-artist from Southampton had a civil partnership in 2013 that his family attended, although he says initially his parents were in shock.

Kuljit now leads group therapy sessions for Sikh men and women who struggle with their identity and says: "Punjabi culture's attitude towards homosexuality remains an injustice".

Filmed and edited by Ben Moore and Emily Ford

Produced by Minreet Kaur