“I do think Islamophobia has affected young people’s mental health. I think that this is something that is rising sadly, we don’t feel safe, or listened to or understood, which kind of makes it worse. That’s why it’s so nice having this club, we can just be ourselves, say what we want to say without fear of repercussion and have fun with our friends” – MGF participant
All the way back in 2016, in collaboration with British Fencing and Sport England, Maslaha introduced the Muslim Girls Fence initiative, aimed at encouraging greater involvement of Muslim girls in the sport of fencing. Eight years on, it remains one of the social enterprise’s key programmes. Senior Project Manager at Maslaha, Allia Fredericks was kind enough to update The Sword’s readers on the work that MGF are doing in 2024 and beyond.
Muslim Girls Fence seeks to harness the transformative potential of the sport, countering misconceptions and elevating the aspirations of young Muslim women who often contend with intersecting forms of discrimination based on both faith and gender. The initiative also aims to dispel the notion of fencing as an exclusive, predominantly white sport, making it more accessible to youths from diverse backgrounds.
Commencing with eight pilot workshops at Frederick Bremer School in Walthamstow from December 2015 to February 2016, the project has expanded into a nationwide engagement program tailored for young Muslim women throughout the UK.
Besides grappling with the typical challenges of adolescence—such as academic pressures, the pervasive influence of social media, societal beauty standards, and the profound effects of the pandemic, Muslim girls must navigate a terrain characterised by entrenched structural inequities. Additionally, Muslim youth face heightened levels of scrutiny due to the Prevent policy, a UK government initiative mandating public sector employees to monitor signs of ‘radicalisation,’ disproportionately targeting Muslim children. Consequently, many Muslim youth feel compelled to self-censor and hesitate to confide in educators or mental health professionals for fear of repercussions, and current mental health services often adopt a generic, one-size-fits-all approach, exacerbating feelings of alienation and perpetuating harm within Muslim communities.
Acknowledging the various barriers Muslim women encounter in sports participation, including dress codes, visibility concerns, non-segregated spaces, and inadequate teacher training, fencing emerges as an exciting avenue for their involvement. The well-known US fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad praised fencing as ‘uniquely accommodating’ for Muslim women, underscoring how it fosters a sense of belonging and teamwork. Ultimately, it empowers them to challenge stereotypes and demand change.
“It’s so important for the girls to have a safe space where they can be creative, get physically active and talk about issues affecting them like Islamophobia and sexism. It feels like an important wellbeing intervention. It is powerful that it is called ‘Muslim Girls Fence’ as it tells our girls they can take up space, fence and that their voices matter as Muslim girls.”– Head of Enrichment at Mulberry School for Girls.
One key project has see fencing become part of the curriculum at Mulberry School for Girls, in Shadwell in East London.
“This long-term relationship with the young people at Mulberry and the youth-led mental health resources help to reinstate girls as their own storytellers, and to open up a space for Muslim girls to articulate, express and celebrate their identity on their own terms.” said Fredericks.
“Alongside equipping young Muslim girls with the tools to express themselves on their own terms is a long-term strategy to bolster their engagement in issues that affect them beyond the workshops, in their school, through sharing these mental health resources co-created with them. We are working to change public imagination seeking to influence and shape public debates and media narratives about Muslim young women and mental health.”
This Girl Can
Muslim Girls Fence is now seen among the sports sector, education sector, and the intersection with health, physical and mental wellbeing, as an example of good practice, influencing a culture change nationally in order to share resources and approaches that address systemic inequalities.
MGF was part of the National This Girl Can National Enjoyment gap campaign in February 2023. A staggering 2.4 million fewer women than men ‘strongly agree’ they enjoy sport and activity; this is what Sports England calls the Enjoyment Gap.
MGF aims to close the enjoyment gap by demonstrating when sports and policy makers centre communities and women and girls’ experiences to create inclusive, enjoyable and accessible sports spaces. The campaign focused on the local Birmingham community sessions at the Ladywood Leisure Centre.
Alongside the national This Girl Can campaign, MGF coach Binni from Birmingham and Akeela, Muslim Girls Fence community coordinator and from Muslim Girls from Doncaster, were part of the launch event and panel to share learning and insights on how to close the enjoyment gap in the West Midlands, to ensure the expertise of local coaches are shared in a way that will inform future policy decisions, public services in the sport for development sector, statutory bodies and funders such as Sports England make future decisions.
Binni Bladez
“Going to these sessions means a lot to me because it’s a bonding moment with my daughter. I wanna be a role model to my daughter, to show her that women can be strong and independent and that they can achieve whatever they want.” – Amreena, fencer from Ladywood Leisure Centre
The MGF community club in Birmingham has become Binni’s Bladez, the first officially registered BF fencing club. In January 2024 Binni, a MGF coach in Birmingham hosted an inclusive community day of sword sports for 80 people alongside By the Sword, a LGBTQ+ fencing club to learn about the modern and historical art of fencing. There have been ongoing successful weekly community fencing sessions in Ladywood Leisure Centre for 60 women from ages 14 – 65 and Summerfield Leisure Centre in Birmingham for 20 women from ages 20 – 60.
In January a portrait of Tasmia Haq, a MGF Birmingham fencer was among the winning photographs of this year’s Portrait of Britain from across the West Midlands that ‘celebrates the faces of modern Britain’ and ‘captures the tapestry of life’. Her beautiful photograph was displayed on digital advertising screens located in high streets, shopping centres and transport hubs across the country. (More here: https://www.1854.photography/awards/portrait-of-britain)
A first national competition
In November MGF delivered a celebratory fencing competition in Birmingham to 52 MGF fencers and coaches from across Birmingham, Doncaster, Bradford and London. It was an opportunity to provide training to upskill fencers in coaching skills and fencing skills, and chance to socialise and build community, as well as the first time hosting a MGF fencing competition with prizes. At the same time they carried out a photography project with local photographer Sarah Ali, as well as an oral history project with the coaches to celebrate their experiences.
Making Space For Healing zine
In 2023 MGF created a youth-led mental health resource with the young people from Mulberry, in a zine format, called ‘Making Space for Healing’ It can be downloaded here: https://www.maslaha.org/Project/making-space-for-healing
Created by young Muslim girls for other young Muslim girls, ‘Making Space for Healing’ is a youth-led mental health resource for Muslim girls that offers tailored advice on how to improve wellbeing, in the face of Islamophobia, racism and sexism, which have a profound impact on their mental health. The zine provides them with a space to explore their emotions, offering practical tools on how to manage difficult moments.
Hands off our hijab
In our school sessions in East London MGF participants created a photo campaign called ‘Hands off our Hijab’. At the time of the campaign they were not allowed to wear their hijabs in PE and dance classes, so they campaigned for the freedom to wear hijab in these classes, and for sport hijabs/comfortable hijabs to be part of their school uniform for PE and dance. They created a photography project, designed their own campaign zine and designed their own hijabs.
They collected over 100 signatures from students, parents and teachers and presented their campaign to the senior leadership team. As a result, in September 2023, the school introduced a black sports hijab similar to what they designed, as part of the school uniform, demonstrating the power of youth voice in making change.
Maslaha is continuing to campaign for women around the use of the hijab at the upcoming Olympics, which will impact certain athletes (notably French ones).
Other projects
Maslaha is working on a new over-50’s MGF community programme for Muslim women and women of colour in Newham, led by a MGF coach who used to be a participant from Tower Hamlets.
For the first time, they are looking to pilot primary MGF sessions in Year 5 & 6 as part of their transition to secondary school. They also hope to also deliver community sessions with both parents and young people by the end of the school year.
Documenting the process is also important, and there is work towards an upcoming coach photography and oral history project, to create resources for educators, parents and young people around Islamphobia, Prevent, Palestine and education. This is in response to a demand from teachers and parents asking for support and providing alternatives to what is being provided in schools.
Read more at: http://www.muslimgirlsfence.org ⚔️