A new report by the Women and Equalities Committee finds that Muslim women are the most economically disadvantaged group in British society. The report states that Muslim women are three times more likely than other women to be unemployed or looking for work, and twice as likely to be “economically inactive.” And those with the same educational qualifications and skills as non-Muslim women were 71% more likely to be unemployed. However, progress has been made as there is 45% more British-Muslim working than just five years ago.
In this op-ed for The Guardian, British-Muslim journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown takes a deeper look at why this is happening:
“…Muslims can’t fly, walk, talk, or use public transport or public spaces without fear of being seen as a terrorist. Since the late 60s, when the first race relations laws were passed, most white Brits accepted the need to protect minorities against discrimination. Not any more, it seems. The Commission for Racial Equality was abolished a decade ago and its notional replacement, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, is moribund. Race equality has been kicked off the agenda while racism goes up. However, the report’s authors are completely right when they say the discrimination Muslim women experience ‘is exacerbated by the pressures that some women feel from parts of their communities to fulfill a more traditional role.’”
