Muslim Women in sports: removing barriers

There has been “slow progress” in breaking down the “barriers and challenges” for Muslim women taking part in sport, says a new report.

The report published by England’s largest Muslim women’s sports charity, Muslimah Sports Association (MSA), found 97% of British Muslim women surveyed wanted to increase their current participation in sports – yet 37% are not involved in any sports or activities.

The research was carried out to identify the demand across the country for Muslim female participation in sport, and to explore the under-representation of Muslim women in sports and to what barriers they are facing. The report says sport participation can help to break down stereotypes and misconceptions about Muslim women.

Yashmin Harun, chair and founder of MSA, said: “The impact of the pandemic and successive lockdowns was clear. It was evident physical activity levels and the general wellbeing of women from diverse backgrounds had suffered.

The Muslim Women in Sport report found: While 80% participate in sports activities ‘casually’, that falls to 9% at a ‘competitive’ level. 43% of Muslim women do not think current sports facilities are appropriate to them. 33% say previous experiences have negatively impacted their participation in sport.

The report found British Muslim women are also most interested to learn or participate in swimming, which was also the sport that brought the most challenges with women not being able to find “comfortable environments” to participate in.

“For Muslim women to be able to fully participate in sport we need to create environments in which their ambitions for physical and sporting activities are not in conflict with their religious commitment to modest dress and behaviour,” says Ibtisam Belola, a Trustee of MSA.

MSA hopes the report will help the sector to engage more Muslim females to get active.

It also hopes it will prompt open discussions on how to address unconscious bias and misconceptions against Muslim women.