LONDON – Women and girls over the age of 12 have been banned by a mosque from taking part in a charity fun run, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. The 5km event held in an East London park yesterday – which has been billed as ‘inclusive’ and ‘family-friendly’ – is open to men and boys of all ages, but organisers insist that female teenagers and women can be forbidden from joining in.
The fundraiser, called Muslim Charity Run and organised by East London Mosque, is being held in Victoria Park in Tower Hamlets.
The local authority is run by the Aspire Party, set up by Bangladesh-born politician Lutfur Rahman, a former Labour councillor who was removed from office for electoral fraud in 2015, but re-elected in 2022.
Bordering on trendy Hackney, the area is often frequented by the capital’s hipsters and artists.
However, the move by East London Mosque to ban females over 12 from the event comes amid growing concerns about the rise of sharia values taking precedence over British laws and traditions in communities across the country.
Last night, after being alerted to the Muslim Charity Run’s segregation rules by The Mail on Sunday, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said it would assess the case.
Outraged campaigners said banning some women was ‘plainly unlawful’ and ‘regressively sexist’ – and accused the organisers of being more ‘conservative’ than Saudi Arabia.
Baroness Shaista Gohir OBE, the chief executive of the Muslim Women’s Network UK, said the East London Mosque, which is behind the event, was ‘likely’ in breach of the Equality Act.
Kellie-Jay Keen, Founder of feminist group Party Of Women, said: ‘Banning women and girls over the age of 12 from a public charity event is plainly unlawful… and reinforces regressive sexist attitudes towards women’s place in public life.
‘No charity should be allowed to operate under a different set of rules because of religion or culture. Equality before the law must apply to everyone.’
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