Salaams All

As we all know Muslim women outperform Muslim men when it comes to education and hence do well in their careers. After all this hard work e.g persuading parents to trust them enough to go to college and then uni, while parents are constantly putting pressure on their daughters to stop and get married due to the many stories they hear about girls running away and getting married to their boyfriends, sleeping around and getting pregnent and doing drugs and free mixing with boys. Of course our parents regard honour as being sacrosanct and see their daughters as such.

So obviously Muslim women deserve to enjoy the fruits of their labour by getting a good job and earning a good salary and making a positive contribution to society. Work also gives Muslims the chance to integrate and mix with non-Muslims within the boundaries of Islam of course. We as Muslims have no problems with integration, but not at the cost of losing our identity.

A recent survey shows the extent to which Muslim women are discriminated against in a so called " Free " and " Democratic " society with its " equal rights". These values are not even implemented in Britain successfully as the University survey shows, so why export them to Muslim lands and force them upon the Muslims by force? Should they not implement them at home first then show us by example?

Many politicians have made statements in the media about Muslims and especially Muslim sisters not integrating into western society. But when Muslim women want to contribute to society and be good citizens they face discrimination in the workplace. A question has to be asked to the British politicians:

Who is responsible for discriminating against Muslim women and therefore preventing integration and community cohesion?

Is it the Muslims? or is it the system and Politicians who make the laws?

Dear Colleague

A new report published today for the EOC's Moving on up investigation reveals that Pakistani women working full time earn 28% less per hour than white men working full-time. This is a gender pay gap 10% higher than the pay gap facing white British women. The report, by Lucinda Platt of the University of Essex, compares earnings of men and women from 6 ethnic groups: Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean, Black African and white British. Reasons for the pay gaps include concentration of ethnic minority groups in particular sectors, interruptions to employment, regional variations and discrimination. Qualifications do not improve average earnings for ethnic minority women, although they do for men. Chair of the EOC Jenny Watson said:

"Muslim women often face a potent combination of sexism and racism when they seek employment and for those women who choose to wear hijab, prejudice on these grounds too. We must address the underlying issues exposed by this research, not focus on superficial factors such as clothing. Britain's ethnic minority communities are very important to our economy; in many towns and cities they are the workforce of the future. Our investigation into ethnic minority women's opportunities in the labour market has found that many are highly qualified and have strong aspirations, wanting to combine work and having a family. For them to be stuck in low-paid work with poor prospects is a damaging waste of their potential."

Download your copy of the report at www.eoc.org.uk/PDF/paygaps.pdf.

For further information about the Moving on Up investigation, which is supported by the European Social Fund, go to www.eoc.org.uk/bme. Email bme@eoc.org.uk if you would like a printed copy of our interim report, published last month.

Helen Wollaston

Director of Campaigns

Stephanie Bassett
Campaigns Officer
Equal Opportunities Commission
Tel: 0161 838 8240
Fax: 0161 838 8303
Mobile:
Web: www.eoc.org.uk
Address: Arndale House, Arndale Centre, Manchester, M4 3EQ

P.s Please forward widely as possible.Jzk