Written submission from Yasmin Rehman and Gita Sahgal (SPP0097)

Who We Are

Yasmin Rehman is a human rights activist and researcher. She is currently working as a freelance consultant and her recent commissions have included survivor consultations for regional government and national governments, work with a number of women’s organisations, providing project and policy support, capacity building, training on equalities, diversity and inclusion for higher education institutions and as an independent panel member reviewing past serious case reviews. Yasmin has also acted as an expert witness in legal cases providing expert reports on faith based abuse and polygamy. 

Yasmin is currently a Board member of Centre for Women’s Justice, a member of One Law for All Coalition, a Fellow of the Muslim Institute and a member of the Cross-Government Working Group on Hate Crimes. She is a former Board member of EVAW (End Violence against Women Coalition). Yasmin has worked for more than 30 years predominantly on violence against women, race, faith and gender, and human rights.  In her role as Director of Partnerships with the Metropolitan Police Service (2004-2008), Yasmin was strategic lead for violence against women and girls, forced marriage and honour based violence and hate crimes. During this time Yasmin was also deputy national police lead for forced marriage and honour based violence. She co-edited a book, Moving in the Shadows, which examines violence experienced by minority women and girls in the UK. She is working on a second book looking at polygamous and temporary marriage and its links to violence and abuse of women and girls.

Gita and Yasmin have both worked on issues of gender equality, violence against women and religious fundamentalism for over 30 years. We were members of Women Against Fundamentalism formed during the Rushdie affair to challenge blasphemy laws and support free speech. We are founding members of the journal Feminist Dissent which is dedicated to examining religious fundamentalism from a feminist perspective and challenging academic views that promote fundamentalists through post-modernist, post- colonial and other theoretical approaches. We have worked with UN experts including Special Rapporteurs on violence against women, torture, cultural rights (including secular cultures) and human rights defenders. In Britain, we work on, among other things, religious laws and parallel legal systems.

Gita Sahgal is a film maker and writer. Gita founded the Centre for Secular Space to promote secularism as a human rights value, after she was forced to leave her role as Head of the Gender Unit at Amnesty International after complaining about its association with Moazzam Begg of Cageprisoners as a human rights defender rather than a promoter of salafi-jihadism. For many years she served on the board of Southall Black Sisters and she was a founder of Women Against Fundamentalism and Awaaz : South Asia Watch. Gita has written numerous articles and book chapters. She co-edited Refusing Holy Orders: Women and Fundamentalism in Britain (London, 1992) with Nira Yuval-Davis. During the 1980s, she worked for a Black current affairs programme called ‘Bandung File’ on Channel 4 TV. She made two films about the Rushdie affair, ‘Hullaballoo Over Satanic Verses’ and ‘Struggle or Submission’. She has also made two programmes for Dispatches Channel 4, ‘The Provoked Wife’ on the case of Kiranjit Ahluwalia and other women who killed their husbands and ‘The War Crimes File’ an investigation into allegations of war crimes in committed by members of the Jamaat I Islami in Bangladesh in 1971.

Executive Summary

The right of women to participate in public life, including through the protection of human rights, is contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as asserted in various international treaties, foremost among them the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESR) and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

The rights of women to participate in public life, including through the promotion and protection of human rights is central to gender equality. Without being able to research, advocate and work in the public sphere women are not free to fight for gender equality. This right of participation on an equal basis has been in many international treaties to which Britain is a signatory.

Experts report that fundamentalism and extremism, in diverse forms, are among the leading threats to women’s equality and human rights, in today’s world. They combine with other factors, such as broader notions of patriarchy to erode women’s rights.  There is no way to achieve gender equality without addressing human rights and the impact of fundamentalism and extremism.

Women in public life and women activists are operating in a context of increasing misogyny, violence and abuse. Threats of sexual and other forms of violence levelled against women for their political activities, writing and simply commenting on stories in the news is now an everyday experience for too many women.

In our experience, women, including women activists and human rights defenders challenging religious orthodoxies face particular risks; that at this time are not acknowledged by police and/or other public bodies. This leaves women in the UK at great risk of physical and sexual violence without any protections afforded to them by the State.

Women in the UK are also facing specific threats of sexual violence and in some cases death threats. They are often accused of being Islamophobes or racists as a means of silencing them. Such slurs and accusations are calculated to destroy their professional reputations.

Although many of the women we have worked with are of Muslim heritage and the threats they have received are from Muslim groups we must stress that this is not limited to this community group alone. A women human rights defender working on Sikh fundamentalism has received threats and abuse from Sikh fundamentalist groups. We are investigating Hindu and Jewish examples as well as fundamentalist Christian groups.

We strongly believe that the threats faced by women human rights defenders require better understanding and responses from the police and others. It is to this end we warmly welcome the opportunity to raise these issues through this inquiry in order to start to change political cultures so that the issues are better recognised and dealt with. 

1. In a context of Islamisation

I[1] and many others have argued that through the erasure of cultural practices and a denial of the diversity of Muslims and Islamic practices across the world, Islamists are reinforcing their world view and creating a perception of a homogenous, monolithic Muslim identity. Pragna Patel[2] has written about the shariafication by stealth of the legal apparatus which involves making state law and policy ‘Sharia’ compliant. I suggest that the extremist agenda is focused beyond the legal structures and is instead a project of Islamisation by stealth which impacts upon all aspects of the lives of Muslim men and women – the public and the private spheres – ordered by and framed within a single, authoritarian version of Islam. This is a new development and in line with the imposition of a single Muslim identity and accepted practice. It is also reinforced through community pressures and community media outlets e.g. television[3]. As Ziauddin Sardar states in Critical Muslim - It is simply not good enough to be a Muslim. You have to be labelled Sunni or Shia, and from there on progressively put in smaller boxes….And to those who deviate one iota …are, by definition, kaffirs – infidels who deserve to die. This chilling statement from Ziauddin Sardar sums up the basis of divides amongst Muslims and the battle for an authentic Muslim identity[4]. There is no longer any space for those of us who are secular and progressive and, as Kenan Malik says wear our faith lightly and not as a sacrosanct public identity. The primacy of a faith identity above all else is now commonly accepted but for Muslims this in itself is no longer enough. This was made absolutely clear in the recent murder of Asad Shah, a member of the Ahmadiyya sect, who are considered heretics by the wider Muslim community. The threat is ever increasing for women who challenge religious orthodoxies and promote gender equality and human rights.

2. Imposition of dress codes

In our work with sister organisations in the One Law for All Coalition, we have been working for many years protecting women who are facing increasing pressure to conform to modest dress codes from conservative religious forces in the community. The issue of dress codes and the pressures women and girls are facing in their local communities has been a concern that has been highlighted in the media and in court cases over many years[5]. The pressure to conform to religious dress codes can be seen in school dress codes for Muslim girls wearing the hijab, including those in primary schools. Sikh girls attending faith schools are also required to wear traditional dress (salwar kameez) unlike their male peers.

Women and girls who do not conform are subject to abuse, threats and violence. In 2011, Southall Black Sisters supported a woman who was facing threats of violence and abuse for not ‘veiling’[6] and her employer’s business was threatened with being boycotted by the local community if the woman continued to refuse to adopt modest dress codes. We continue to hear from women in similar situations today. Women are ostracised, spat at in the street, verbally abused and threatened for not conforming to accepted norms of behaviour by religious conservatives in the community. 

3. Defending women's rights in the face of a fundamentalist backlash.

The right of women to participate in public life[7], including through the protection of human rights, is contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as asserted in various international treaties, foremost among them the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESR) and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

We welcome recent developments to address the abuse and misogyny many women politicians are subjected to at this time. However, we urge the Committee to also take into account the abuse and threats that many women activists, particularly those from minority communities, are facing at this time as a result of challenging fundamentalist religious interpretations and practices which directly impact upon women and girls.

The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders defines women human rights defenders as both female human rights defenders, and any other human rights defenders who work in the defence of women’s rights or on gender issues. The Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) recognizes the important role of HRDs, including women defenders, and outlines relevant rights of all HRDs and obligations of States.

Women defenders are subject to the same types of risks as any human rights defender, but as women, they are also targeted for or exposed to gender-specific threats and gender-specific violence. The reasons behind the targeting of WHRDs are multi-faceted and complex, and depend on the specific context in which the individual WHRD is working in. Often, the work of WHRDs is seen as challenging traditional notions of family and gender roles in the society, which can lead to hostility by the general population and authorities. Due to this, WHRDs are subjected to stigmatization and ostracism by community leaders, faith-based groups, families and communities who consider them to be threatening religion, honour or culture through their work.

In addition, the work itself or what they are striving to achieve (for instance, the realisation of women’s rights or any gender-related rights) also makes them targets for attack. Their families also become targets for threats and violence, aiming to discourage WHRDs from pursuing their work. Women defenders are more at risk of being subject to certain forms of violence and other violations, prejudice, exclusion, and repudiation than their male counterparts. It is therefore important to recognise the specific challenges this group of defenders face, in order to strengthen protection mechanisms and other, both local and international level responses to their specific concerns. Prompt investigation of intimidation, threats, violence and other abuses against women human rights defenders, whether committed by State or non-State actors, should be undertaken. The situation in practice however often leaves WHRDs without effective protection mechanisms.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders in a report to the General Assembly in 2010 stated;

..women human rights defenders are more at risk of suffering certain forms of violence and other violations, prejudice, exclusion and repudiation than their male counterparts. This is often due to the fact that women defenders are perceived as challenging accepted socio-cultural norms, traditions, perceptions and stereotypes about femininity, sexual orientation and the role and status of women in society….This can in certain contexts, lead to hostility or lack of support from the general population, as well as the authorities.

Karima Bennoune, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights submitted two reports to the General Assembly in 2017, stating that ‘women’s human rights … are an essential part of the fight against fundamentalism and extremism, without which it cannot succeed[8]. She says;

At the heart of fundamentalist and extremist paradigms are rejections of the equality and universality of human rights, both of which are critical to ensuring women’s cultural rights and making the unwavering defence of those principles the touchstone of a gender inclusive human rights response. [9]

4. Secular Activists

Secular women's human rights defenders face particular problems that are not being recognised either by political parties, by the authorities including the police. Social media is used by fundamentalists to issue threats and to ensure the identities of WHRDs are circulated throughout their networks and across borders.

Threats of death, often issued in the form of fatwas (religious edicts), of physical and sexual violence are not recognised as serious enough to warrant investigation. or even organisations collecting information on hate crimes.

We argue that there has been a concerted effort by fundamentalist groups and others in Britain, to discredit the work of secular activists, particular those from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds as anti-faith and even as anti-Muslim.

The definition of secularism that WHRDs such as ourselves adhere to is stated below and was written by Gita Sahgal:

We use secularism not to mean an absence of religion but to mean a state structure which defends both freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief, but where there is no state religion, where law is not derived from God and where religious actors cannot impose their will on public policy. A secular state does not simply limit religion, it maintains as a duty, not a favour, the essential right of religious freedom – the freedom to worship and maintain churches, mosques and temples unhindered and to protect minorities from attack. Such a right also includes the right to challenge dominant religious interpretations and importantly to leave religion. Such a state is crucial to the protection of rights, not only for women, but also for religious minorities. In fact, it is the only structure in which religious fundamentalists have a voice, but which is capable of limiting the inevitable harm they will cause. 

5. Police and State Response to Threats Faced by WHRDS

Although there is legislation to cover threats against women's rights advocates, we find that the police are often reluctant to register cases, do not seem to understand that hate crimes legislation relating to religion extends to those of non-belief and those challenging religious fundamentalist interpretations. We have also found the police and other authorities are particularly reluctant to intervene in intra- community disputes.

When complaints have been made to political parties regarding the activities of their members, they have typically refused to acknowledge the complaint and have in some cases supported allegations against secular activists as Islamophobic and/or anti-religious.

WHRDs who have spoken out about religious fundamentalism including on issues fundamental to gender equality, such as hijab; in primary schools and sharia councils, where women are affected differentially from men, have been particularly threatened. But they have also been targeted for their opposition to fasting in schools, opposition to blasphemy laws or caste distinctions.

The threats include being labelled as apostates, which carries the death sentence in some Muslim majority countries, and the threat of banning and extreme social exclusion from the community. Such labels are an incitement to violence against human rights defenders as can be seen from the attacks that have taken place in Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and elsewhere.

WHRDs in the UK are also facing specific threats of sexual violence and in some cases death threats. WHRDs in the UK are often accused of being Islamophobic or racists as a means of silencing them. Such slurs and accusations are calculated to destroy their professional reputations. A Hindu woman we have been working with has received countless threats of rape and sexual violence against her and her family. She has struggled to report the details of many of the threats to the police as she has said she feels too traumatised to go through each one without support. This support has not been forthcoming from the police. These threats, sent via social media and one signed with an ISIS flag, was dismissed by police as not serious enough to warrant investigation.

Although many of women human rights defenders we have worked with are of Muslim heritage and the threats they have received are from Muslim groups we must stress that this is not limited to this community group alone. A women human rights defender working on Sikh fundamentalism has received threats and abuse from Sikh fundamentalist groups. We are investigating Hindu and Jewish examples as well as fundamentalist Christian groups.

We strongly believe that the threats faced by WHRDs require better understanding and responses from the police and others. It is to this end we warmly welcome the opportunity to raise these issues through this inquiry in order to start to change political cultures so that the issues are better recognised and dealt with.  

There are a number of policy issues that arise from the threats being faced by women human rights defenders which include:

• Why the protection of free speech and women’s rights advocacy is intrinsically linked to gender equality
• Women's rights activists from minority communities are not being recognised as under threat especially when the threats come from those from the same ethnic/national/religious background as the victim.
• Many of these threats are threats of sexual violence or attempts to shame women as prostitutes, sluts and home breakers
• The relationship between hate crimes, prejudice and particularly misogyny to the motivation and consequences of terrorist attacks needs to be recognised and explored further.
• The right to be an atheist or to leave a religion of birth is protected under legislation on hate crimes which cover religion or belief. This protection is simply not understood by those charged with recording or investigating hate crimes. Senior police officers have failed to recognise that being labelled atheist is, for Muslims, tantamount to a death threat and an invitation to commit various forms of gender based violence against them.
• Women's rights advocates often find that they are challenging powerful 'community leaders' or politicians with links to international networks such as the Jamaat e Islami, the Muslim Brotherhood, salafi-jihadi groups or Iranian regime supporters. These networks have a considerable history of violence abroad, including organised sexual violence as in the case of Bangladesh 1971. In many instances the women face threats in the UK and their families overseas are also targeted.
• The use of social media to propagate hate and incite violence against women human rights defenders based in the UK from groups and individuals here and overseas.
• The consequences on freedom of speech by silencing debate and discussion of issues affecting the rights of women and girls in minority and faith communities.
• The impact on the rights of women to participate in public affairs by engaging in public debate, criticism, opposition and dissent.

We are constantly gathering more evidence and have collated a dossier of cases ranging from individuals sending threatening and abusive messages to and about WHRDs to public declarations of support for fundamentalists groups whose members are leading the social media threats. We are happy to share this information confidentially in order to protect the women concerned.

As stated above we warmly welcome the opportunity to submit this paper to the Committee and are willing to present further written and oral evidence if required. We hope that this results in greater understanding of the threats and abuse WHRDs are facing in the UK today, that their experiences are recognised and taken seriously and that a plan of action to move forward can begin to be formulated in partnership with you and your political colleagues. We are willing to help in any way we can and would be happy to put forward the names of women and others that we work with on this issue who would be able to participate in the discussions.

March 2018