No culture above women’s rights

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard the mantra that “diversity is our strength”, often repeated with little challenge. Yet now, the cracks are starting to show, and people are waking up to the fact that maybe, just maybe, it’s common values that bind us together, not difference. This really started to hit home when I saw valid concerns about particular religious practices dismissed in the name of “cultural sensitivity”. For me, it all boiled down to one question — would I accept such behaviours and practices for my own daughter? This was the guiding principle underpinning my recent report on coercion and abuse of Muslim women and girls.

Britain is a tolerant country committed to freedom of religion. Tolerance, though, cannot be limitless. No religious or cultural beliefs should ever justify the oppression of women and girls. Lowering standards for certain communities — a form of “soft” racism — is neither inclusive nor kind. 

To properly grapple with these issues, it is important that we are honest about attitudes from within Muslim communities and how they differ to those of the general public.  A major Ipsos review of survey evidence found that nearly half of Muslim men agreed with the statement “wives should always obey their husbands.” This is obviously problematic, more so given the isolation of some Muslim communities can sustain these outdated views and allow harm to continue unchallenged. Language barriers, mistrust of authority and the pressure imposed by narrow social and family circles all contribute to keeping abuse hidden and unreported.

It can begin early for Muslim girls, with what they are expected to wear. Many Muslim women wear a headscarf, and that choice, when it is truly a free one, should be respected. But we are now seeing children as young as 5 in British primary schools wearing the hijab. Children cannot consent to adult religious norms. Muslim girls should not be marked out as “different” and hindered from participating in sport like everyone else when at school. 

The same pattern appears around marriage. In cases where a religious marriage ceremony is not accompanied by civil registration, a woman can be left without legal protections if the relationship breaks down. Baroness Casey’s review into opportunity and integration recorded claims that up to 75% of Muslim marriages may not be registered under the Marriage Act. Whatever the exact figure, it is unacceptable that any Muslim “wife” is left without the same legal protections enjoyed by other women.

Cousin marriage is another issue that must be called out. In Bradford, nearly 40% of Pakistani heritage couples are first cousins. Distressingly, children from such unions are significantly more likely to suffer with birth defects and have special needs. Over time, that amounts to a heavier caring burden — and it is almost always mothers who must carry it — with predictable consequences for their careers, independence and social opportunities.  

Out of everything my report considered, female genital mutilation (FGM) is the most extreme and abhorrent practice.  It leaves survivors with lifelong physical complications and trauma. Yet enforcement of the law on this has been inadequate — since the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 came into force, there have been just three convictions in England and Wales. Meanwhile, NHS data show 6,980 individual women and girls had an attendance where FGM was identified in the year to March 2025. That gap between prevalence and prosecution is a mark of national shame and a reminder of how much more we need to do to ensure this horrific, medieval practice is wiped out.

Of course, drawing attention to these harms is not to deny that Muslim women can also face abuse and intimidation from outside their communities. They can be abused in public spaces and targeted online, and Home Office data show that almost 2 in 5 (38%) of religious hate crimes where a targeted religion was recorded were targeted against Muslims in the year ending March 2024.

Nevertheless, protecting Muslim women from external hostility must not become an excuse for shying away from tackling the harm found within. If we are serious about women’s rights, our standards must be consistent. That is why my minority report calls for practical reforms: a prohibition on headscarves for children in schools up to age 16; compulsory legal registration of Islamic marriages; a prohibition on first cousin marriage; a national task force to increase prosecutions for FGM; tailored support for Muslim women facing domestic abuse; and a more assertive approach to integration.

The society I want for all our women and girls is not one that avoids difficult problems for fear of causing offence. Respect for religion and insistence on women’s rights ought not to be in conflict, but if they are, Parliament should never hesitate to show which side it is on.