Domestic Violence Campaign to help Scottish Muslims
- 10 Jan
Charity in Scotland are launching a new campaign to fight domestic violence against Muslim women and show the true Islamic teachings about what is allowed.
The campaign called Change This will use passages from the Qu'ran to change the misconception that Islam allows violence against women.
The charity Amina, who run a helpline for Muslim women in Scotland, is launching the campaign, and said it was aware of many cases where people used their religion in an attempt to justify violence.
Part of the campaign will be going out and speaking to men and women to voice the issue and stop it being hidden away.
Smina Akhtar, from Amina, said
We have women coming in, phoning our helpline, time and time again and saying: 'My husband said it's okay, he told me the Koran says it's okay'.
We're quite surprised that Muslim women are often not educated even in Islam, because Islam does not condone violence. For black and minority ethnic women, for Muslim women, it seems to take them longer than the indigenous women to come and speak up.
We'll use phrases within the Qu'ran to say no, actually the Quran does not say that it's okay for your husband to hit you,Organisers are asking people to oppose all sorts of violence against women and girls and, to make the problem heard; to talk to both men and women about the problem so that it cannot remain hidden.
Shakti Women's Aid, who offer help to ethnic minority women experiencing domestic abuse in Scotland, is also supporting the campaign.
Mridul Wadhwa from Shakti Women's Aid said:
There is a need for an open and honest discussion about it; we cannot use arguments of faith and culture or men's 'rights' as an excuse any more.
Men should be involved in this discussion too.
Sometimes individuals connected to faith groups will encourage methods of mediation to make the abused reconcile with their abusers and I don't think that's appropriate.
Victims need to speak to someone safe, a service that's not compromised in any way by issues of patriarchy.
Related articles
- 08 Sep
People in Leeds call to tackle domestic violence
Leaders from private, public and third sectors gathered for the Voice of Leeds Summit and discussed what they could do to tackle domestic violence, reports the Yorkshire Evening Post.Over the past...
- 04 Sep
Plans to tackle domestic violence in Bury
Research by Bury Council’s domestic violence and abuse steering group has found that there was an average of ten incidents a day in the past year from April 2015, reports the Bury Times.Town hall...
- 28 Aug
Domestic violence levels in Northern Ireland at highest
Police have said that the number of reports of domestic violence are continuing to rise, and from April 2014 to April 2015 there was a 5.6% increase, report U TV. Ulster University is set to release...
- 16 Jul
Welfare reforms could make it harder for domestic violence victims to leave their homes
Service director for Newcastle Women’s Aid Elaine Langshawe has said that welfare reforms are making it harder for domestic violence victims to leave their partners, reports the Chronicle Live.Ms...
- 15 Jul
Support for domestic violence survivors provided by local charities
A contract worth £1.2m a year has been obtained by Women’s Aid Integrated Services, Nottinghamshire Women’s Aid and Equation, reports Impact Nottingham. This contract uses funds from...
- 13 Jul
New fund to support victims of domestic violence
The fund will be open to proposals from local partnerships that show how the needs of victims are able to be met in innovative ways, reports 24dash. It has also been revealed that there will be a...
- 03 Jul
Domestic violence campaign launched in Sandwell
Run by charity Fry Housing Trust, Sandwell Council and Sandwell’s Domestic Abuse Strategic Partnership, the ‘Brighter Futures’ scheme will be running over the next two years, reports ITV...
- 24 Jun
Wolverhampton police see thousands of domestic violence reports
It has been reported that an average of sixteen incidents of domestic violence were recorded each day in Wolverhampton over the last year, reports the Express and Star.Of the 5,900 incidents reported...
- 15 Jun
UK’s approach to domestic violence called ‘incoherent’
A leaked copy of an official report by the UN special rapporteur on violence against women, Rashida Manjoo, has called for an urgent inquiry into Yarl’s Wood and a focus on repeated allegations...
- 10 Jun
Domestic violence to be highlighted in new film by students and police in Sunderland
The first year media students and third year drama students at the University of Sunderland have created four short films that cover financial, emotional, physical and sexual forms of domestic abuse,...
Support Solutions 5th National Housing Support & Social Care Conference 2014 Good organisation from beginning to end. Excellent keynote speaker. Relevant and important topics for discussion which were to everyone's advantage within the supported housing sector. B.H - Stevenage Haven
