UK Makes It Clear that Muslim Women’s Rights Are Not Important

Shaista Gohir, a cross-bench peer and head of the Muslim Women’s Network, has been campaigning for Muslims to have clear laws that protect them against public abuse. She was part of a working group on anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia launched by the British government in 2025 to define what would constitute unacceptable treatment, prejudice and discrimination against Muslims.

It is understood that a proposal ruled a definition that condemned “anti-Muslim hostility”, as opposed to anti-Muslim hatred or Islamophobia. The non-statutory definition was intended to protect people in line with existing law and legislation, said Lady Gohir, who criticised Downing Street for its handling of the issue after government figures showed hate crimes against Muslims rose by nearly a fifth in 2025. She is quoted as saying:

“Every group has the right to be protected. The only reason why we’re asking for it is because of the high levels of abuse. We’ve got an election in about three years’ time and it’s just going to get worse,” she added. “And personally, if I’m going to blame anybody… We’ve got an election in about three years’ time and it’s just going to get worse,” she added. “And personally, if I’m going to blame anybody, I’m blaming No 10.”

These measures to speak up for Muslims may have been motivated by how many Muslim have expressed feeling insecure and Unsafe.

Gohir’s complaint comes after research reveals most British Muslims feel negative about their future in the UK. Muslim Census’s “The Crisis of Belonging” report found only 8.2% felt positive about their future in the UK, while 62.7% said they felt negative.

Just over half 51.9% said they felt they “strongly belong to the UK”, plunging from the 93% reported in an Ipsos Mori 10 years ago.

It’s clear that the dream of a better life and more happiness with freedom was not realised and the fact is the Muslims are living something a nightmare in survival mode.

Rising Islamophobia and a political climate that makes Muslims “feel unwelcome in their own country” as well as low job security were all identified as concerns in the survey of 4,800 people, conducted in partnership with charities Islamic Relief UK and the National Zakat Foundation.

The Muslim Census analysed British Muslims’ financial health and “sense of belonging”. A report by the Commons’ women and equalities committee found Muslim women were disproportionately likely to face hostility and abuse, and that rising online, verbal and physical abuse and discrimination was deeply affecting individual lives and corroding community cohesion.

The real test of whether these laws are relevant to actually improving the lives of Muslim women lies in the abject hostility from other UK faith groups who argue it would limit freedom of expression and the ability to criticise Islam. The need to keep Muslims in their under-dog place is not concealed and it is supported by the authorities who cower to the bigoted consensus.

Conservative thinktank, Policy Exchange, has said it would be used to undermine Britain’s counter-terrorism laws, immigration rules and foreign policy “without democratic consent”, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has strongly opposed the adoption of any definition, arguing it risks - “breaking the law. Legal protections against discrimination and hate crime already exist, so it is unclear what role a new definition would play in addressing discrimination and abuse targeted at Muslims,” an EHRC spokesperson said. “An official non-statutory definition risks being in conflict with existing legal definitions and provisions, resulting in inconsistency and potential confusion for courts and individuals.”

Under the Equality Act 2010, Islam is protected as a religion, but Muslims are not defined as a racial group so are not covered by protection against racial discrimination. This reveals how laws can be bent and manipulated to serve any given agenda.

In 2019, the Labour Party adopted a working definition of Islamophobia from the all-party parliamentary group on British Muslims, which said: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.”

Although this definition was adopted by many organisations, as well as by the Liberal Democrats and Scottish Conservatives, Westminster government and the Conservative Party did not follow suit, arguing the definition had “not been broadly accepted” and needed further consideration.

In 2016, the government adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which has been taken up by the main UK parties. This is evidence of blatant hypocrisy and bias towards protection of certain groups over others.

Gohir is yet another secular politician trying to use Haram reference points and agendas to help Muslims, and in doing so is only securing their fate to be oppressed and marginalised.

What is needed is true, uncompromising implementation of the Islamic laws under the Khilafah (Caliphate) so that Muslims do not have to seek any kind of permission to live in security and they do not have Muslim women living in fear of harm or insult as ordained by Allah (swt):

[وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ وَحَمَلْنَاهُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَاهُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَفَضَّلْنَاهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًا]

“And We have certainly honoured the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference.” [Surah Al-Isra, 17:70].

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Imrana Mohammad
Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir