Earlier this month, our CEO Sajda Mughal OBE wrote a piece for the Independent about the rise of the Far-right and Islamophobia in the UK. The article shed light on the fact that many politicians, institutions and news outlets have been either consciously or subconsciously reluctant to treat far-right extremism with as much severity as …
Should marriage age be raised to 18 to prevent forced marriages?
As it stands, the minimum age to enter into a marriage in England and Wales is sixteen years old with the consent of a parent or guardian. Campaigners are now calling for a change to this law, with UNICEF stating that marriage before the age of 18 is a fundamental violation of human rights. MPs are currently discussing …
‘Nazi-free’ timelines should leave Non-Germans asking questions…
Author and columnist Virginia Heffernan tweeted this in December. A tweet, which subsequently went viral: PSA. For anyone beset by Nazi and brownshirt bots: I changed my Twitter address to Germany at the suggestion of a shrewd friend, and they vanished. Germany has stricter hate-speech laws. — Virginia Heffernan (@page88) December 4, 2017 In her …
Shroud Of Dishonour – What really happens behind the curtains?
Two prominent social and cultural patriarchal constructs play a role in all aspects of a woman’s life in the South Asian (SA) community; they are izzat (honour) and sharam (shame). Izzat and sharam are both factors that impede the assessment of child sex abuse, domestic violence and honour killings. These were and still are widespread issues swarming the community. Embed …
JAN Trust’s view on the Domestic Violence Bill
Domestic violence can affect any one of us, regardless of background. Crime Survey of England and Wales (CSEW) states 1.2 million women aged 15-59 have experienced domestic violence in the year March 2016/17. Embed from Getty Images Theresa May recently made an announcement that we at JAN Trust believe is much needed. A reform to …
FGM – Not Only a Problem Abroad
Many are aware that FGM, Female Genital Mutilation, is a huge international problem affecting around 200 million girls and women globally. However, a new report from the NHS shows that FGM is still very much a problem, not only globally, but also in the UK. The NHS report was released last week, and the data covers …
The challenge of institutional racism
Over a fortnight ago, an article was published in the Evening Standard titled ‘Nearly half of black and ethnic minority Londoners have faced racist abuse.’ If this statistic surprised anyone, it shouldn’t have. Yes, we have made progress in the fight against racism. Last month, Londoners voted to have a Mayor who is a practising Muslim …
Traumas of Forced Marriage
‘Muslim model, 24, is found hanged after fearing she was going to be forced into arranged marriage by her parents’ ‘The Hasidic woman … [who] killed herself suffered years of depression following her forced marriage to a first cousin’ These are just a few of the headlines from the media last month. The message is …
The Government must act NOW, by Sabbir Malik
A number of grassroots organisations campaigning to eliminate violence against women and girls such as JAN Trust voiced concerns at the Government’s approach to criminalise forced marriages. JAN Trust is at the forefront of raising awareness and undertaking advocacy work to end the practice of forced marriage; they work with victims and are the only …
New forced marriage legislation is not the answer
Forcing someone to marry is now illegal in England and Wales leaving perpetrators who coerce victims into marriage facing up to 7 years in prison. Although David Cameron argues that ‘forced marriage is abhorrent and little more than slavery… to force anyone into marriage against their will is simply wrong and that is why we …