Frequently asked questions

The idea for the project came from the National Muslim Women’s Advisory Group (NMWAG). NMWAG is an independent informal group which advises the Department of Communities and Local Government on issues to empower Muslim women and increase their participation in civic, economic and social life. There is more information about NMWAG members on the About us page of this website.

NMWAG members commissioned Equal to the Occasion to manage the project on their behalf, working with Inspired Sisters and Studio North.

Photographs of the role models were taken by Muslim women photographers Shaista Chishty, Amra Ejaz, Leone Hillesheim and Romana Qureshi.

The steering group agreed criteria for the selection of role models, which included that they should be one of few Muslim women in their field, with an interesting and inspiring story to tell. There was a particular focus on non-traditional jobs.

A call went out through different networks and 12 were selected from a list of over 100 nominations. We have aimed for a variety of jobs, sectors, location and ethnicity.

All 12 women featured on this website have made a career choice which is a bit different and demonstrate some of the diversity within the Muslim community living and working in Britain today. We know there are many other Muslim women out there who are equally positive role models. We encourage you to get involved by coming to one of our roadshows or posting your story on our Facebook page.

The Department of Communities and Local Government provided the funding for the National Muslim Women’s Advisory Group to develop the project. Local authorities and other partners in Manchester, Middlesbrough, Dudley, Rotherham, Cardiff and Newham have covered the cost of bringing the roadshow to their community.

The project targets Muslim girls because Muslim women have the lowest employment rates of any group in Britain today. In 2003/4, less than one in three Muslim women had a paid job, compared to two in three non-Muslim women.

We also want to dispel myths and misconceptions about Muslim women held by the wider community, so the roadshows are open to all.

We have chosen to take the roadshow to local authorities in 6 different regions of England and Wales, including some areas where Muslims are a smaller minority community. Our aim is to bring the roadshow to young people who have fewer opportunities to meet positive Muslim female role models. 

The initial budget for the project covered the organisation of six roadshows. We hope that if the events are successful, local authorities and other partners in different parts of the country will be inspired to put on their own events locally.

No, the events are all open to men and women, of all ages and from all communities. Although the role models are all Muslim women, the story of how they have followed their dreams can inspire us all.

The aim of this project is to raise aspirations of young Muslim girls and encourage them to follow their dreams. Research to explain the low employment rates of Muslim women, by the Equal Opportunities Commission* and others, has identified the lack of positive role models as a significant issue. This is not the only barrier, but there are other initiatives targeting employers so the National Muslim Women’s Advisory Group decided to target Muslim girls whilst they are still at school so that they have positive role models to inspire their future employment choices.

* Moving on up?, 2007 available from www.equalityhumanrights.com

Our project focuses on new career choices, so all of our role models are doing a non traditional job for a Muslim woman. We have listed other initiatives such as the Muslim Women Power list on the Next steps page of this website.

We have not translated the booklet into other languages because the prime audience is school age girls.

We will measure the number of Muslim girls and others who attend the events, visit the website and Facebook page. We will follow up with girls who take up the offer of mentoring from one of the role models to ask them how this affects their future choices. Schools and youth groups will facilitate discussions with young people who attend the events, giving them an opportunity to share their impressions and feed comments into the evaluation. Media coverage will be monitored to assess how far the project impacts on the wider community. Equal to the Occasion will produce an evaluation report of the project once all six roadshows have taken place.