Muslim Women’s Council established the Think Tank programme in 2019, aimed at enabling Muslim women to represent their lived experiences and needs.
MWC endeavours, through this programme, to ensure that Muslim women of all backgrounds can seriously influence policy and decision making at all levels. Muslim women have been used by researchers when it has suited their research projects and government agendas, regurgitating the tired and reductive narratives about ‘the Muslim woman’. Women we have worked with over the years have increasingly expressed their frustration with being used as ‘subjects’ for research agendas framed by others and now want their unmediated voices to be heard.
Our aim is to enrich and correct the knowledge landscape by ensuring that new relevant research is produced directly by Muslim women on issues that they feel are important to them & their communities, building trust between communities and research institutes. The evidence, recommendations and solutions generated by them will be used to show how the government and both the public and private sectors can help create conditions that allow Muslim women to thrive.
After completing the training programme, the participants identified a list of key research areas emerging from their lived experiences, some of these areas were difficult and rarely addressed in research. The women decided to implement four concurrent research studies, organising themselves into smaller community research teams and conducting over 200 interviews in total.
We are delighted to present the first of our four reports, examining the experiences and views of 50 young Muslim women on drug related activity in Bradford. The Think Tank community research teams identified this as an under-researched topic, and were keen on drawing attention to what they know from experience is a growing epidemic within their communities in order to explore and develop effective solutions without criminalising or judging the young women’s choices.
Bana Gora, CEO of Muslim Women’s Council says “Our community research teams have demonstrated sustained commitment and dedication while developing the research themes and questions. We are proud to present the first of four cogent and timely studies on community-based issues. We would like to thank our funders The National Lottery Community Fund Lived Experience Leaders Pilot Programme, the Smallwood Trust & Wellcome Trust for believing in our vision”.
Click to read the 🔗 Young Muslim Women Speak: Drugs, Faith and Safeguarding report's summary.
For the full report, please email us at 👉 directorsoffice@muslimwomenscouncil.org.uk
