Building a Better Britain Together
Introduction
Over the last decade, the sense that Britain has become a divided society has become palpable. One of the biggest challenges we face is Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred, a scourge which undermines British values and has led to violence on our streets.
The next government in its first 100 days can turn this national crisis into an unprecedented opportunity to bring Britons together on a new platform of national unity. Tackling Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred, particularly that targeted against the most vulnerable – Muslim women – is not a niche concern, but an urgent priority to ensure Britain can move forward into a future where health, employment and education works for all.
Anti-Muslim prejudice alongside systemic inequalities has contributed to entrenched ethnic pay gaps, misogynistic discrimination, large-scale poverty and inequalities, among many other problems. Britain has seen a 600% increase in anti-Muslim hate crime, with British Muslim women facing the brunt of such incidents which are misogynistic, racist and anti-Muslim in nature. Across the UK, women are still facing a gender pay gap in the workplace exacerbated by ethnicity. Bangladeshi and Pakistani women bear the brunt of the worst gender pay gap of 28.4% and 25.9% respectively. Young Muslims in schools and universities face unprecedented levels of anti-Muslim discrimination and bullying.
British Muslim women are a diverse group, contributing at every level to British society – with many female Muslim parliamentarians, Muslim women active in media, business and the public sector, and Muslim female role models playing a larger role in public life and even on our TV screens. Despite such successes and achievements, they find themselves on the frontlines of this national crisis, facing an intersection of barriers related to gender, ethnicity and race, faith, sexuality, class and disability. British Muslim women remain marginalised from policymaking, and across major sectors such as employment, health and education. For too long, they are seen almost exclusively through the lens of extremism and terrorism, although the latter is mostly perpetrated by men. And the complexity of the challenges faced by British Muslim women is compounded by the dearth of data on their lives and experiences across employment, education, civic participation and beyond.
Ultimately, the concerns Muslim women face in their daily lives are not unique to them. They represent national challenges that impact all women, men and children in Britain: the NHS, inflation, the cost of living, and economic inequalities are problems common to us all. Yet Muslim women are especially vulnerable compared to others, living in some of the most deprived areas in the UK with high levels of poverty. So by tackling the issues that affect Britain’s most vulnerable, we can improve prospects for everyone.
The next government in its first 100 days can turn this national crisis into an unprecedented opportunity to bring Britons together on a new platform of national unity. Transforming the lives of British Muslim women by tackling Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred is an urgent priority to ensure Britain can move forward into a future where health, employment and education works for all.Â
There is huge potential civic power amongst British Muslim women across the UK. The next government can harness this power to support Muslim women’s groups and individuals, to come together to overcome the barriers, challenges and obstacles they face at a local and national level.
In our below set of 10 policy asks we set out how a new government can recognise the incredible achievements, contributions and vital role of British Muslim women. By valuing and supporting us, the first 100 days of a new government could be transformative for British Muslim women, ensuring they are included and embedded in policy thinking, design and planning.
Our 10 Asks
Of the next UK Government in the first 100 days:
- Adopt a Comprehensive Working Definition of Islamophobia
- Strengthen Hate Crime Enforcement
- Protect British Muslim Women in Public Life
- Regulate Online Platforms to Protect Muslim Women and Combat Gendered Islamophobia
- Enhance Public Safety Approaches for British Muslim Women
- Refresh and Strengthen Hate Crime Action Plans
- Economic Empowerment, Childcare and Self-Employed Mothers
- Mandatory Ethnic Pay Gap Reporting
- Bolster the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
- Improve Education, Health and Mental Health Services
Adopt a Comprehensive Working Definition of Islamophobia:
- Commit to establishing and adopting a working definition of Islamophobia/anti-Muslim hatred under an equalities brief, ensuring it addresses both racial and faith-based discrimination.
Strengthen Hate Crime Enforcement:
- Improve training of police to understand hate crimes and record all reported incidents accurately, even those that do not meet the hate crime threshold. Ensure police fully investigate hate crimes with an intersectional approach, and set tariffs for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to increase hate crime prosecutions and convictions.
Protect British Muslim Women in Public Life:
- Enact section 106 of the Equality Act 2010 to improve transparency in politics, as outlined by the Centenary Action Group. Implement measures to safeguard Muslim women, particularly MPs and councillors, from harassment and threats in the public sphere. See the Fawcett Society ‘Zero Misogyny Election’ pledge.
Regulate Online Platforms to Protect Muslim Women and Combat Gendered Islamophobia:
- Bolster the Online Safety Act to include anti-Muslim hatred and ensure it is robustly implemented to adequately protect women and girls online, including British Muslim women, by ensuring Ofcom include the voices and experiences of British Muslim women in the formulation and development of its code of practices. Ensure that Ofcom sets out specific guidance in relation to British Muslim women to protect them from online harassment, and target websites and social media accounts that endanger their safety.
Enhance Public Safety Approaches for British Muslim Women:
- Commit to specific measures ensuring the safety of British Muslim women in public spaces, including streets, parks, public transport, and stations. Adopt an intersectional approach to hate crime and policies that tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG).
Refresh and Strengthen Hate Crime Action Plans:
- Update the Hate Crime Action Plan to include targeted measures for young Muslim people on public transport, ensuring their safety from hate crimes.
Economic Empowerment, Childcare and Self-Employed Mothers:
- Invest in the childcare sector, particularly supporting self-employed Muslim women and stay-at-home mothers to ensure they have access to adequate resources and opportunities to support them into paid employment and or entrepreneurship.
Mandatory Ethnic Pay Gap Reporting:
- Introduce mandatory ethnic pay gap reporting for employers, similar to gender pay gap reporting, and support the implementation of recommendations from the Fawcett Society and Runnymede Trust’s ‘Broken Ladders‘ report.
Bolster the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC):
- Strengthen the EHRC to effectively address prejudice and discrimination against British Muslim women, ensuring it has the resources and authority to act.
Improve Education, Health and Mental Health Services:
- Develop and implement anti-Muslim hatred guidance for schools and universities, monitor and track anti-Muslim bullying, and enhance access to faith-sensitive mental health services for young British Muslims, as well as to faith-sensitive sports provision. Additionally, improve services and options for parents of SEND children and those with severe and enduring neurodiverse disorders.
The above 10 asks from British Muslim women have been developed in consultation with Muslim women and is British Muslim women led, in partnership with and supported by the organisations below:
The Association of Muslim Lawyers