Sexual Harassment - Muslim Women Break their Silence.

"1 in 5 of every woman that walks down a British street, has been the victim of a sexual offence from the age of 16"
We have recently heard the shocking and disturbing news of sexual harassment on a massive scale during political protests in Egypt. (link)

Women are openly being attacked and sexual violence is being used against them as a way to silence and discourage them from taking part in such protests. This got me thinking...sexual harassment is an issue that affects our day to day lives and is in our community and throughout society as a whole. The best way to tackle this problem is to speak out and be vocal.
We asked Muslim women in Glasgow about their views and personal experiences of sexual harassment.

"It used to happen a lot more when I was younger, (now) it happens less but I'm still very conscious of the way I dress. I'll make sure I have a scarf round my neck or make sure I don't have anything on that's too short. I don't wear tight trousers or tops. I'm very very conscious that some Muslim men do stare and they don't hide it. They just don't bother to hide the fact they are looking at you." - Aishah

"Going shopping and stuff, you could be in a crowded shopping centre and you can feel that someone is touching you. This is what I experienced when I was very young. I feel like now there is a lot more knowledge about sexual harassment and we're more aware that it is something that does happen to young people particularly" - Shabnam

"One time on a train journey there was a drunken guy all over me and that made me very uncomfortable. He was coming up quite close to me and he was saying horrible stuff to me, quite sexually motivated stuff. There were people around me that could see I was feeling really uncomfortable.I think sometimes people feel like they can't intervene." - Shelina

Sexual harassment can affect women of all walks of life, including Muslim women. This behaviour is totally unacceptable and it is only through opening up and talking about the issue that we can start to tackle it head on. Now is time to speak out, you can change this!

Here are links to some fantastic online organisations who are actively speaking out about sexual harassment: Everyday Sexism Twitter (link) and Hollaback Edinburgh (link)


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