A Mosque which refused to allow women and girls over the age of 12 to take part in a charity fun run has been forced to scrap its ‘regressive’ and ‘sexist’ ban following an investigation by The Mail on Sunday.
The 5km event held in East London last month was billed as ‘inclusive’ and ‘family-friendly’ but organisers insisted that female teenagers and women were forbidden from joining in.
This newspaper exposed the rules imposed by organisers of the Muslim Charity Run which prompted an ‘assessment’ by the UK’s equalities watchdog.
Last night, a spokeswoman for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said organisers, the East London Mosque, had U-turned and promised to allow women of all ages to participate next year.
Campaigners said banning females over 12 was ‘plainly unlawful’ and ‘regressively sexist’.
Shadow Women and Equalities minister Claire Coutinho said: ‘It was appalling that women and girls over the age of 12 were ever banned from taking part in a Muslim fun run simply because they are women.
‘Well done to The Mail on Sunday for exposing this unfairness and I am glad that common sense has prevailed and the organisers have changed course.’
However, some questioned why the EHRC had not taken greater sanctions against the mosque in charge.
The 5km event held in East London last month was billed as ‘inclusive’ and ‘family-friendly’ but organisers insisted that female teenagers and women were forbidden from joining in
Human rights campaigner Aisha Ali-Khan said: ‘There has to be some kind of sanction against this charity. They have spent 12 years sidelining women. They have been banning them from participating.
‘Our community leaders should be made accountable.
‘This saga has exposed community leaders living in their little ivory towers feeling untouchable. It is damaging to our religion.’
The annual event, originally named Run 4 Your Mosque, has been held since 2012.
It takes place in Tower Hamlets, the local authority 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.
On the day of the run, October 12, he defended the event, saying there should be ‘no room for criticism’.
The EHRC last night confirmed its investigation had now been halted.
A spokeswoman said: ‘If we are made aware of any further complaints about the event, we stand ready to re-examine the concerns and take action where appropriate.’