.... According to its own research, the MCB claims more than a quarter of the UK’s 1,975 mosques in Britain don’t have prayer area for women, and 28% do not offer any facilities for women.
Maysoon has a legal background, having worked in the sector for 10 years, and has a masters degree in education (she also speaks six languages). Using her experience, Maysoon is currently teaching at the Abu Bakr mosque in West Yorkshire.
“I just teach in the mosque, but I wanted to take it further,” she says. “I didn’t want to limit myself because I could see that the mosque needed a female voice amongst all the elderly men who run it.
“The same men who would make it quite clear with some of their comments and reactions that they felt uncomfortable with women coming to the mosque to pray as is their right.”
In August, Muslim women in Scotland launched a campaign for equal prayer space and inclusion in decision-making bodies. The Scottish Mosques for All campaign said: “It is unfortunate that many mosques fail to provide basic access for Muslim women to use the facility to pray, or the quality of the space can often be inadequate and not suitable.
“It is also unfortunate that many mosques have limited or no women present at mosque trustee or managerial level, either intentionally preventing women from taking up these roles or not sufficiently providing a welcoming atmosphere where women feel comfortable to get involved. [The Huffington Post UK] Read more
