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[email protected] Letter to local councillor candidates re Gendered Islamophobia in Britain today Wednesday 18th April 2018 Dear Local Council Candidate, As Jewish and Muslim women, we both firmly believe that no-one should fear for their safety because of who they are, how they pray, what they wear, or their gender. How we treat each other is a testament to our core values and we are all diminished when we allow fear and ignorance, which often lead to bigotry and violence, to come between us and go unchecked. Tell MAMA www.tellmamauk.org, the only national campaign that monitors, records and supports victims of anti-Muslim hatred, highlighted in their annual report, a range of social impacts caused by anti-Muslim hatred within the United Kingdom. The greatest impact was felt by women, who are visibly Muslim; more than half of victims of in-person or street- based incidents were female. Every day spaces like trains, buses or the streets often feel unsafe for Muslim women, and they are too often worried that they, and their children, will face verbal abuse or even physical violence. As Jewish women, standing shoulder to shoulder with our Muslim cousins, and as mothers, sisters, and crucially as friends, we call upon every candidate in the local elections in May, to commit to addressing violence against Muslim Women, or Gendered Islamophobia. We call upon you, as potential local councillors, firstly to publicly and immediately commit to a clear strategy to protect Muslim women on our streets in our towns and villages, and secondly, to work with Nisa-Nashim (the Jewish/Muslim women’s network in 30 locations nationally) to develop a local policy, to address this issue longer term.