A new report by the British parliament has warned that Muslim women are the most economically disadvantaged group in British society, adding that they are three times more likely to be unemployed and looking for a job than women generally.
“The impact of Islamophobia on Muslim women should not be underestimated,” the Women and Equalities Committee said in a report before the House of Commons, BBC reported on Thursday, August 11.
“They are 71% more likely than white Christian women to be unemployed, even when they have the same educational level and language skills.”
The committee added that they are three times more likely to be unemployed and looking for a job than women generally and more than twice as likely to be economically inactive.
The MPs report also warned that Muslim women in Britain face a “triple penalty” impacting on their job prospects: being women, being from an ethnic minority and being Muslim.
They face particular issues of discrimination when applying for jobs because of the clothes some of them they wear because of their religion or culture, the MPs suggest.
While 69% of British working-age women were in employment, among Muslim women it was 35%.
Nationally, 5% of women were unemployed and seeking work but among Muslim women it was 16%.
“The impact of the very real inequality, discrimination and Islamophobia that Muslim women experience is exacerbated by the pressures that some women feel from parts of their communities to fulfil a more traditional role,” the committee said.
“The Equality Act applies to everyone and all women, regardless of faith, should be free to make their own choices about all aspects of their lives, including education, employment and dress, and subsequently be empowered to overcome the disadvantages they may face,” the report concludes
source : abna24
