On Sunday the 23rd of July. A group of women put on their first event with Amaliah, amounting just under 200 signs ups in three days. No website, no marketing campaigns, no product, just a Facebook group with four determined women who have a mission.

Who are they?

The Admins at Muslim women collective are:

• Bushrah Wasty is Editor in Chief at FemiNisa
• Sultanah Parvin is a Teacher and TV presenter on Women’s AM, Islam Channel
• Nusrat Lodda is a Writer and  TV presenter on Women’s AM, Islam Channel
• Sulekha works at the NHS and focuses on Health engagement and Community work around Education as well as Housing.

What does the group do?

The group has been established to provide a safe space for Muslim women from all around the world to debate and discuss challenges Muslim Women face. It’s a space that really facilitates debate and allows members to respectfully disagree on certain topics.  The group rules are also very clear and contribute to facilitating open debate.

What was discussed?

Sh. Muhammaed Nizami: "Who told you to take these people as Shaykhs. Just because he is on YouTube?!"

— MWC UK (@MWCollective) July 23, 2017

"Misogyny comes us in so many different forms and sometimes we feel uncomfortable and don't know how to respond" – Sultanah

— Amaliah (@Amaliah_Tweets) July 23, 2017

"Hardest thing is that sometimes Muslim women are misogynistic as a means to cope" – Sultanah

— Amaliah (@Amaliah_Tweets) July 23, 2017

Sultanah Parvin (@SulParvin): "Muslim activism has the capacity to influence and impact the discourse, but is it doing that at the moment?"

— MWC UK (@MWCollective) July 23, 2017

"All believers are problem solvers. We must be solution focused"
– Sheikh Muhammad Nizami#mwc

— Amaliah (@Amaliah_Tweets) July 23, 2017

Just like in the civil rights movement; you need to know the law
To tackle misogyny in Muslim communities; you need to know your faith#mwc

— Amaliah (@Amaliah_Tweets) July 23, 2017

Hudda Khaireh: "I would hope that given our lives are diverse, that our experience impacts the discourse and in turn activism"

— MWC UK (@MWCollective) July 23, 2017

The fact there aren't safe spaces with our Ummah to speak and resolve these issues internally contributed to this in the first place.

— Amina Koroma (@AminaKoroma) July 23, 2017

We need to reclaim out issues as our problems and resolve them accordingly instead of MSM using it as ammunition to defame Islam.

— Amina Koroma (@AminaKoroma) July 23, 2017

On racism IN the Muslim community and islamophobia inflicted ON the community. https://t.co/WuFanGA8qn

— Amaliah (@Amaliah_Tweets) July 23, 2017

Sultanah @SulParvin: "Some of our men do not have emotional intelligence"

— MWC UK (@MWCollective) July 23, 2017

Hudda Khaireh: "There is an issue when people feel the need to police people religiously."

— MWC UK (@MWCollective) July 23, 2017

What did attendees think?

Nusrat Lodda of Muslim Women Collective reflects on the event and shares her thoughts:

“One of the highlights of the event was audience engagement. I am glad that the audience were very much contributing to the discourse and relaying their realities amongst each other and to the panellists. I feel that having agency and space by which to speak in a way that is not constrained nor rigid but rather freely and not self-censoring is central to finding solutions to mitigate problems within the community, especially when it pertains to women. The networking segment of the event was great, it was great having a one to one speaking time with the audience. I definitely got to know them better.

For the future of MWC I believe it is limitless and this is the start of something epic. We do hope to do more events in the future, but perhaps more centrally mentally mobilise women to use their power and knowledge to effect change within their remit at all levels. A point of contention was the presence of a male scholar at this event, with the general argument/question of how a male scholar can talk about misogyny and reinforce the need for sisterhood. If anything this emphasises how imperative it is that male allies join women in helping to foster harmony and equality amongst each other. The shaykh was excellent in how he articulated faith theological perspective into the present context in how we respond and solve issues.”

@Amaliah_Tweets @muslimwomenc

Just fire and truth and inspiration. Ma sha Allah pic.twitter.com/ffLAgeOCWH

— ProjectRibcage (@ProjectRibcage) July 23, 2017

Such a great event today by @mwcollective & @amaliah_tweets on misogyny, racism & political activism! See @hirr4 & #MWC for live tweets

— New Horizons (@n_Horizons) July 23, 2017

Such a great event today by @mwcollective & @amaliah_tweets on misogyny, racism & political activism! See @hirr4 & #MWC for live tweets

— New Horizons (@n_Horizons) July 23, 2017

Nusrat Lodda Thanked the community after the event

“Your input and analysis on the contentious issues we discussed has given further clarity on matters pertaining the to Muslim community and how we can implement solutions to ameliorate our situation. I enjoyed meeting you all and hearing your views. This dialogue was very much needed. I hope that this will be the start of many discussions )with steps of implementations) to come. 

Bushra Wasty 

“Sultanah, Sulekha, Nusrat and I feel so inspired by all who attended and all who contributed today. There was so much to say and so much to discuss and frankly speaking, I think many of us would have gone on and on!”

It just goes to show, if you really want to effect change and do something you can. Push yourself and be part of the solution. A clear message to many of us, we should and can go beyond the confines of online to offline and have real, meaningful movements.