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How to Be a Muslim Woman

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How To Be A Muslim Woman

BBC Radio 4 - How to Be a Muslim Woman

Sayeeda Warsi explores how to be a Muslim woman in 21st-century Britain.

Sayeeda Warsi examines some of the many ways to be a Muslim woman in 21st century Britain.

Sayeeda was the first Muslim woman to sit in the British Cabinet, but even at the top table of British government she was frustrated by lazy stereotypes about Muslim women. When Muslim women do get to speak, she says, it's too often only when they fit one of those stereotypes, or an existing established narrative, whether it's about domestic violence, forced marriage or the burka.

Sayeeda is tired of those conversations, and thinks the stereotypes are boring and dangerous, preventing real discussions on important issues. So for this programme she has spoken to Muslim women from a range of backgrounds and viewpoints about their lives, their choices and their experiences, in the process sharing some of the many ways to be a Muslim woman.

In sunny Yorkshire she meets spoken word poet Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan, trainee Army medic Ammani Bashir and Director of the Muslim Women's Council Selina Ullah. In North London, she sits down with activist Maz Saleem. And in central London she talks to trade unionist Shavanah Taj, campaigner and 7/7 survivor Sajda Mughal, anti-FGM activist Nimco Ali and Julie Siddiqi, who works on Jewish-Muslim relations. 

Producer: Giles Edwards

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