The lack of women-only spaces or facilities and modest sports attire, or the potential of encountering any discrimination are some of the reasons behind slow progress on removing barriers that hinder Muslim women from participation in sport, a new report has found.
The report published by England’s largest Muslim women’s sports charity, Muslimah Sports Association (MSA), was carried out to identify the demand across the country for Muslim female participation in sport, and to explore the under-representation of Muslim women in sports.
“The impact of the pandemic and successive lockdowns was clear. It was evident physical activity levels and the general wellbeing of women from diverse backgrounds had suffered,” Yashmin Harun, chair and founder of MSA, told The BBC.
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The report found 97% of British Muslim women surveyed wanted to increase their current participation in sports, yet 37% are not involved in any sports or activities.
“The research demonstrates that progress has been slow. The barriers and challenges Muslim females face are still very much the same from reports conducted 15 years ago,” Harun added.
“Quite often Muslim women are left on the fringes of conversations when we talk about sports for all. The research identifies there is a huge demand for Muslim women wanting to be more active but accessibility and opportunities are rare and safe spaces are not provided.”
One woman who took part in the report said: “Coming to a women’s-only swimming session and being told there were male lifeguards – that defeats the whole purpose.”
Suggestions
The report offered suggestions to increase Muslim women participating which includes creating a comfortable environment for them.
“Women only sessions is a predominant and recurring theme in our findings but is not a solution in of itself; as highlighted by some of the quotes around male lifeguards at women-only swimming sessions,” it read.
“There is much nuance to unpicking what a ‘comfortable environment’ means to Muslim women and scope to create some principles around this to develop a greater understanding of this for the sector as a whole.”
Ibtisam Belola, a Trustee of MSA, added, “For Muslim women to be able to fully participate in sport we need to create environments in which their ambitions for physical and sporting activities are not in conflict with their religious commitment to modest dress and behavior.”
Launched nine years ago, the Muslimah Sports Association (MSA) has been working to empower young sportive Muslim women, as well as overcome cultural barriers and funding problems.
Established in 2014, MSA grew to gain charity status in 2019. It now offers over 15 sports a week including; Badminton, Basketball, Netball, Karate, Football and Tennis.