Photo by Robin Hammond @hammond_robin | "This Mother’s Day I think of all the moms I’ve met who are taking a stand for their marginalized children. I met one such mom, Mai (seated), in Uganda in 2015. She was having a hard time understanding Joseph's transgender identity. She was going through a kind of transition of her own: Mai still often used he/him pronouns when referring to Joseph, even though Joseph referred to themselves as female. First and foremost, Joseph was her child. Their gender identity didn’t change her love. What changed since Joseph came out was Mai's anxiety for their safety. She worried constantly, especially since Joseph was arrested and brutally tortured by the police. Mai’s instinct, like any mother’s, was to love her child, to be there for them. Stones thrown by transphobic members of their community often rained down on their house, but Mai stood firm. “I accept him, and I protect him,” she said."
In honor of #MothersDay, we’re sharing moments of motherly love in its many forms.