Report: Muslim community leaders blocking women in local politics

Muslim 'community leaders' act as "a barrier" to women trying to enter local politics, a recent report has found.

The report from Muslim Women's Network UK also found that caste discrimination and sectarian bigotry plays a role in obstructing women from Muslim communities from being elected as local councillors and retaining their seats.

It cited examples of Muslim women facing pressure from male 'community leader' networks and even "abusive and violent means" to prevent them from participating in local politics.

It also highlighted the "special relationship" male Muslim 'community leaders' have with the Labour Party.

The report, which examines how to increase the representation of women from minority communities in UK politics, found that despite minority communities constituting 18% of the population, only 3% of local council seats are held by women from these backgrounds.

Muslim 'community leaders' provide Labour "a ready-made electorate"

The report said Muslim women's participation in politics is hindered by male 'elders' who acquire 'community leader' status "by means of their connections with religious, cultural, business and political actors in their country of origin".

The report said these "patriarchal" leadership networks, sometimes known as biradari, have "controlled women's mobility, career and life choices, limiting if not entirely blocking women's personal autonomy in the political, as in the social, economic and cultural spheres".

Biradari have countered challenges to its control over who participates politically by "stigmatising and ostracising the women who challenge and sometimes by using abusive and violent means", the report said.

It highlighted how biradari have built a "special relationship" with the Labour Party via trade unions, providing the party with "a ready-made electorate".

Prior to his election victory, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a letter addressed to "Faith Leaders" his government would "ensure strong partnerships with faith communities".

Prospective councillor told Islam does not allow women in politics

One participant in the study was Saima Afzal, who is named as "Sarah" in the report but asked for her anonymity to be waived. Afzal decided to stand as a local councillor for the Labour Party in 1999 after local Pakistani 'community leaders' were "actively discouraging" women from standing, saying "Islam did not allow it".

Afzal continued to apply for candidate selection but failed to gain support in her local area where "the Labour Party, influenced by biradari politics, dictated that women were unwelcome".

When she was finally elected in 2018, Afzal was surrounded by "an aggressive masculine culture" which included councillors "who claimed religious piety". She found her male colleagues tried controlling her by instructing her to "dress modestly" and "show 'respect' when meeting mosque leaders". They also wanted to vet her public statements to "ensure they were in line with their stance". For example, they said statements given to Muslim parents about personal, social, health and economic education in schools "should not be seen as sympathetic to LGBT+ relationships and issues".

When Afzal called out her colleagues' "prejudices and intimidating behaviour" and continued to reach out to groups they disliked, including LGBT groups and trafficked women, an informal councillor group meeting disintegrated into "threats of violence" against her, she said.

Following this "smear campaign", Afzal was deselected two years after her election. After she challenged the councillors responsible for her deselection, she faced attacks against her property, including slashed car tyres and her house being broken into. She believes these attacks were carried out to stop her from making an official complaint.

All-male mosque congregation told not to vote for female candidate

Another Muslim participant in the study, 'Ghazala', said her election as councillor in her early twenties caused "consternation" among older South Asian male councillors who felt they "were not given the respect owed by a 'girl'" and disapproved of her speaking on issues such as relationships and sex education in schools.

She said a male-only congregation at a local mosque was instructed not to re-elect her in upcoming local elections, and her marriage to a white man was "used to paint her as inherently anti-Muslim and lacking in sexual morals".

Ghazala, Afzal and other participants raised concerns that when compelled to select more women to stand in local elections, 'community leaders' in the Labour Party would bring in 'paper tigresses': female family members who were "deemed safe, hence controllable".

A third participant in the study, "Jalna", highlighted how sectarianism in Muslim communities had obstructed her from local politics. Jalna is from the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, which is regarded as "heretical" by some Sunni Muslims. Ahmadi Muslims face discrimination and oppression across the world, including in the UK.

Jalna believed her mentor – a South Asian man though not Muslim – "favoured applicants of other faiths and ethnicities in the South Asian community". He reportedly said her selection, compared with that of the Sikh applicant he was backing, would "pose awkward questions". He reportedly said: "Your lot [Ahmadiyya community] have too many problems."

Another participant, 'Tamara', said despite her hopes of becoming a Labour councillor, she would never have been selected because she was from a caste "which was not accepted by the biradari in the city where she lived".

In addition to these issues within their own communities, the report said a variety of other factors, including racism and anti-Muslim attitudes, add to the barriers to minority women participating in local politics.

NSS: "Worrying" that community leaders appear embedded in Labour Party

NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said: "It is extremely concerning that patriarchal religious views, in addition to sectarianism and caste discrimination, have been preventing women from Muslim communities from fully participating in local politics. This threat to democracy must be taken seriously.

"It is particularly worrying that 'community leaders' who put up these barriers appear deeply embedded in the Labour Party.

"Labour has signalled its willingness to deepen its relationship with 'faith leaders'. It must not do so at the expense of women and others who are marginalised in faith communities."