Fighting Islamophobia and discrimination

On 5 June, the Safra conference on ‘Strategies for Empowerment and Capacity Building’ saw a group of 20 women come together to join in a programme of workshops and speakers. The event was unique because it focused solely on tackling misconceptions that cause stigmatisation and discrimination of Muslim LGBT people as a result of their sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender.

The Safra Project works on issues relating to lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women who identify as Muslim. It deals with the issues they face, and the combination of prejudices based on sexual orientation, gender, religion and culture that are insufficiently understood, or addressed, in the mainstream.

Delegates participated in debates on ‘Sexuality, Gender & Islam: legal and theological though’ and ‘Accepting ourselves: dealing with fears, guilt and depression’ - which included findings on mental health services. These sessions generated a rich contribution from the women who had come together and was followed by a round-group discussion on ‘Coming out’ to family and friends. Here, it was encouraged to share experiences and unpicking the consequences, as well as an opport unity to meet other Muslim LBTQ women to build a network and social support groups.

The conference also identified key needs and issues relating to Muslim LBTQ women and facilitated access to information and resources that would empower us to deal with complex social and legal issues we face.

For more information contact: Safra Project, P.O. Box 35929, London, N17 OWB.
Email: info@safraproject.org