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In Defence of Equality in Birmingham Schools

Joint Statement by Southall Black Sisters and Feminist Dissent

As a group of individuals and organisations, we express our solidarity with the head teachers, staff and parents of children at Parkfield and Anderton primary schools in Birmingham and those elsewhere that are struggling against the onslaught of religious fundamentalist forces. In the face of a fierce and well-orchestrated campaign mounted by Islamists (and supported by other fundamentalist and right-wing forces), we defend their courageous struggle to deliver an inclusive education curriculum based on the principles of acceptance, equality and humanity.

The protestors claim that aspects of the schools’ curriculums are incompatible with their religious beliefs. They have used misinformation, intimidation, harassment and abuse to generate fear and to impose their bigoted and homophobic world views on others. We reject their tactics and we reject their claim to speak on behalf of minorities or represent ‘community values’. Many parents from minority communities do not subscribe to their fundamentalist vision, they struggle on a daily basis to give their children – boys and girls – educational opportunities that they never had. They struggle to protect their children from a range of inequalities – racism, sexism, and homophobia – and they believe, as do we that equality and freedom depend on access to education and knowledge.

‘Parent power’ has become a key tool used by conservative and fundamentalist forces to curtail what is taught within schools and to withdraw children from those aspects of the curriculum that do not align with their views. Rather than challenge their anti-equality agenda and fight for children and young people’s right to a full and comprehensive education, some local councillors and MPs are ready to extinguish their rights in order to bolster and appease their own vote banks. The leaders of all the main political parties have also been completely silent. But silence is impunity.

We will not allow fundamentalists of any hue to hijack the education system. This is not about liberal values versus religious values but about those who support equality for all and those who do not. This is not about religious freedom but about the politics of hatred, division and violence. This is not about minority rights but about fundamentalist bids for power and control over people and resources.

We urge all those who care about education to speak up and defend the teaching of equality in schools everywhere. We call upon the government to defend without reservation the right of schools to teach an inclusive school curriculum; to promote equality and age-appropriate sex and relationships education for all children and young people; and to properly fund and support state schools to deliver a secular, egalitarian and accessible education for all.

Supported By

Jocelyn Watson, Writer
Mili Acharya, Southall Black Sisters
Shakila Taranum Maan, Film Maker/artist/writer
Jayne Egerton
Liz Kelly, Child And Woman Abuse Studies Unit
Halaleh Taheri
Jean Pooley
Rahila Gupta
Samia Malik
Florence Binard, Université De Paris
Anjum Mouj, Imaan Muslim Lgbtqi
Chitra Nagarajan
Meena Patel, Southall Black Sisters
Joanna Foster, Fabtic
Sadia Hameed, Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain
Francesca Favia, Southall Black Sisters
Rav Chohan
Paul Brading, Humanity
Sara Bonfanti, University of Trento
Louise Evan-wong
Rebecca Habberley, Children’s Services
Rosemary Snelgar
Sue O’sullivan
Claire Birkenshaw, Leeds Beckett University
Angela Demetriou
Jude Watson, London Older Lesbian Cohousing
Alison Brown, Gleadless Valley Branch Labour Party
Cathie Sutton
Clara Connolly
Jane Gabriel, Fifty Fifty Publishing Ltd
Raju Bhatt, Bhatt Murphy
John Hammond
Pete Firmin, Labour Representation Committee
Susie Denton, Bhatt Murphy Solicitors
Alex Colas
Frances Grundy
Ian Saville
Katharine Bligh, Chairwoman, Hampstead & Kilburn Constituency Labour Party
Mike Phipps, Brent Central Clp
Sue Katz, Women Against Fundamentalism
Pratibha Parmar
Gaynor Lloyd
Stephen Sefton
Shaheen Haq, Queer, Muslim Feminist
Moshé Machover, Labour Party
Kate Marston
Stacey Duke
Simon Erskine
Liz Evans
Monica Ali
Jjhn Brown
Ulrike Schmidt
Julie Begum, Swadhinata Trust
Pam Laurance
Paul Lewis
Richard Palmer
Tehmina Kazi
Smita Bhide, Times’ Up Writers’ Group
Andy Heintz, Author And Writer
Hana Borrowman
Justin Lewis
Valerie Vaz, Member of Parliament Walsall South
Paul Farrelly, Labour Member of Parliament
Joanna Gray, University of Birmingham
Helen Tank
Kiran Kaur
Susan Blackmore
Jon Marks
Catherine Hansla
Caitlin Durham
Esther Angel
Gulshun Rehman
Sanja Pitchkarevich
Fiona Vera Gray, Durham University
Alex Hodson, Past Tense
Rayah Feldman
Monika Pindel
Muneeza Inam, Southall Black Sisters
Erin Mansell, Women’s Equality Party
Sharon Gewirtz, King’s College London
Gurcharan Virdee
Rosanne Rabinowitz
Jane Lane
Rohit K Dasgupta, Loughborough University/London Borough of Newham
Kalwinder Sandhu
Alexandra Fanghanel
Kay Sidebottom, Leeds Beckett University
Mel Lenehan, Fircroft College
Matt Mahmood-ogston, Naz And Matt Foundation
Tony Whelan
Amrita Shodhan, Soas, University of London
Kerry Forward
Eileen Scholes, Women’s Equality Party
Joanna Hamer
Ulrike M Dr Vieten, Queen’s University Belfast
Shreya Sinha
Khadija Khan, Journalist
Bianca Errico
Alexia Pepper De Caires, Ngo Safe Space
Mike O’brien, Labour Party Member Standing For Police & Crime Commissioner
Annette Pryce, National Education Union
Peter Conlin, B13 Resident
Simeon Shtebunaev, Birmingham City University
Prof Catherine Donovan, Durham University
Millie Wild
Tracey Evans
Jacqueline Gruhn, Unison
Isla Alexander, Grampian Branch of The Women’s Equality Party
Ashika Thanki
Jim Denham, Labour Party, Unite
Les Beaumont
Shabanah Fazal, Ex-teacher
Emma Robertson, Ms
John Cahill
Professor Naomi Goldenberg, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
Jacqui Dearden, (University)
Helen James
Jane Pehlivan, N/a
Shernaz Dinshaw, Activist
Vidya Ramachandran, Southall Black Sisters
Alexandra Jones, Surviving Economic Abuse
Shamma Vanat, Southall Black Sisters
Ellen Gordon-bouvier, Oxford Brookes University
Stephen Burrell, Centre For Research Into Violence And Abuse, Durham University
Anita Johal, Rise
Gurpreet Virdee, Women And Girls Network
Dr Camille Warrington
Helen Beckett
Finn Mackay, Sociology, Uwe Bristol
Cheryl Shagan
Leah Jewett, Outspoken Sex Ed
Paula Nolan, Liverpool Domestic Abuse Service
Sonia Mehta, Sawcc London
Julie Barton
Robert Bollard
Amanda Stokes, Primary Academy
Clare Campbell
Lisa Gormley, Centre For Women, Peace And Security, London School of Economics
Feminist Fightback, Feminist Fightback
Laura Schwartz, University of Warwick
Sallie Barnes
Khakan Qureshi, Founder, Finding A Voice
Sukhwant Dhaliwal, Feminist Dissent Editorial Collective
Dr Stephen Cowden, Senior Lecturer In Social Work, Coventry University
Pragna Patel, Director Southall Black Sisters
Aisha K Gill, Professor of Criminology, University of Roehampton
Brenna Bhandar, Soas, University of London
Sundari Anitha, Reader, University of Lincoln
Yasmin Gunaratnam, Reader In Sociology, Goldsmiths, London
Raggi Kotak, Barrister, 1 Pump Court Chambers
Charlie Peat, Barrister, 1 Pump Court Chambers
Yasmin Rehman, Human Rights Activist
Georgie Wemyss, Feminist Dissent Editorial Collective
Angela Saini, Author And Journalist
Angelina Nicolaou, Barrister, 1 Pump Court
Julie Begum, Swadhinata Trust
Gurpreet Bhatti, Writer And Playwright
Karen Ingala Smith, Ceo The Nia Project
Beatrix Campbell, Writer And Activist
Halaleh Taheri, Executive Director of Middle Eastern Women And Society Organisation-mewso
Maryam Namazie, Spokesperson of One Law For All And Council of Ex-muslims of Britain
Fariborz Pooya, Producer of Bread And Roses TV
Alejandro Colas
Mary Adossides, Chair, Brent Trades Council
Gita Sahgal, Centre For Secular Space
Prof Alison Assiter, Philosophy, Uwe, Bristol
Prof. Em. Nira Yuval-davis, Centre For Research On Migration, Refugees And Belonging, The University of East London
Stephen Evans, Ceo, National Secular Society
Peter Tatchell, Director, Peter Tatchell Foundation
Jimmy Bangash, Cemb Spokesperson
Dan Barker And Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-presidents, Freedom From Religion Foundation, U.s.a
Ibtissame Betty Lachgar, M.a.l.i. – Alternative Movement For Individual Liberties, Morocco
Sandhya Sharma, Safety4sisters
Rebecca Durand, Feminist Dissent Editorial Collective
Nahla Mahmoud, Sudanese Human Rights Campaigner
Jocelyn Watson, Writer
Mili Acharya, Southall Black Sisters
Samia Allalou, Algerian Feminist
Yasmine Mohammed, Free Hearts Free Minds
Marieme Hélie Lucas, Algerian Feminist, Sociologist, Founder And Former International Coordinator of Wluml And Founder And Coordinator of Siawi
Fatou Sow: Academic, Senegal, Director Wluml
Ahlam Akram, Basira
Harsh Kapoor, South Asia Citizens
Shakila Taranum Maan, Film Maker, Artist, Writer
Jayne Egerton
Liz Kelly, Child And Woman Abuse Studies Unit
Manjeet Singh, Digital Marketing Consultant
Farida Shaheed, Executive Director, Shirkat Gah – Women’s Resource Centre (Pakistan)
Sultana Kamal, Founder President, Foundation For Human Rights Culture, Bangladesh
Lalia Ducos, Algerian Feminist, President Wicur ( Women’s Initiative For Universal Rights)
Sayeed Ahmad, Hrd, Bangladesh
Rahila Gupta, Writer And Member of Southall Black Sisters
Jean Pooley
Samia Malik
Professor Lynn Freedman, Columbia University, Usa
Florence Binard, Université De Paris
Anjum Mouj, Imaan Muslim Lgbtqi
Chitra Nagarajan
Nina Sankari, Kazimierz Lyszczynski Foundation
Meena Patel, Southall Black Sisters
Murad Banaji
Somak Biswas, Convener, Queer History Reading Group, University of Warwick
Hannah Ayres, Convener, Queer History Reading Group, University of Warwick
Wendy Haslam
Eva Turner
Leena Kumarappan
Francesca Favia, Southall Black Sisters
Joanna Foster, Fabtic
Sadia Hameed, Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain
Rav Chohan
Paul Brading
Karamat Ali, Executive Director, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education And Research (Piler), Karachi, Pakistan
Madiha Latif, Shirkat Gah Women’s Resource Centre
Javed Anand, National Convener, Indian Muslims For Secular Democracy (Imsd)
Sara Bonfanti, University of Trento
Louise Evan-wong
Dr. Rosemary Snelgar
Sue O’sullivan
Claire Birkenshaw, Leeds Beckett University
Angela Demetriou
Jude Watson, London Older Lesbian Cohousing
Alison Brown, Gleadless Valley Branch Labour Party
Cathie Sutton
Clara Connolly
Professor Virinder Kalra, Sociology, University of Warwick
Jane Gabriel, Fifty Fifty Publishing Ltd
Diana Nammi, Executive Director, Iranian & Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation
Pete Firmin, Labour Representation Committee
Susie Denton, Bhatt Murphy Solicitors
Dr Alex Colas
Frances Grundy
Ian Saville
Katharine Bligh, Chairwoman, Hampstead & Kilburn Constituency Labour Party
Mike Phipps, Brent Central Clp
Sue Katz, Women Against Fundamentalism
Pratibha Parmar
Gaynor Lloyd
Stephen Sefton
Shaheen Haq, Queer, Muslim Feminist
Aklima Ferdows Lisa, Bangladesh
Mandy Sanghera, Human Rights Activist
Moshé Machover, Labour Party
Kate Marston
Stacey Duke
Raju Bhatt, Bhatt Murphy
John Hammond
Paul Lewis
Pam Laurance
Ulrike Schmidt
John Brown
Monica Ali
Liz Evans
Simon Erskine
Dr Mary Hughes, Barrister, 1 Pump Court
Abha Bhaiya, Feminist Activist
Nsssarma.ex President, Democratic Teachers Federation
Elham Manea, Academic And Human Rights Advocate
Nigel Rolland
Faizun Zackariya, Social Activist, Researcher, Sri Lanka
Shafinaz Hassendeen, Activist, Sri Lanka
Rosie Lewis, Angelou Centre
Umme Imam, Angelou Centre
Halima Salat Barre, Ex Muslim, Poet, Freelance Journalist, Activist
Richard Palmer
Tehmina Kazi
Smita Bhide, Times’ Up Writers’ Group
Andy Heintz, Author And Writer
Hana Borrowman
Rohini Weerasinghe, Movement For Democracy And Justice, Sri Lanka
Cherifa Kheddar, President Djazaïrouns, Blida, Algeria
Justin Lewis
Valerie Vaz, Member of Parliament Walsall South
Paul Farrelly, Labour Member of Parliament
Joanna Gray, University of Birmingham
Dr Rashmi Varma, Warwick University
Helen Tank
Kiran Kaur
Susan Blackmore
Jon Marks
Catherine Hansla
Caitlin Durham
Esther Angel
Gulshun Rehman
Sanja Pitchkarevich
Fiona Vera Gray, Durham University
Alex Hodson, Past Tense
Rayah Feldman
Avtar Brah, Professor Emerita, Birkbeck College
Joanna Hamer
Eileen Scholes, Women’s Equality Party
Kerry Forward
Amrita Shodhan, Soas, University of London
Tony Whelan
Matt Mahmood-ogston, Naz And Matt Foundation
Mel Lenehan, Fircroft College
Kay Sidebottom, Leeds Beckett University
Alexandra Fanghanel
Kalwinder Sandhu
Rohit K Dasgupta, Loughborough University/London Borough of Newham
Jane Lane
Rosanne Rabinowitz
Gurcharan Virdee
Sharon Gewirtz, King’s College London
Erin Mansell, Women’s Equality Party
Muneeza Inam, Southall Black Sisters
Monika Pindel
Amina Lone, Equalities Campaigner And Co-director of Social Action And Research Foundation
Homa Arjomand, Coordinator of The International Campaign For One Secular School System
Yehudis Fletcher, Spokesperson, Nahamu
Mandu Reid, Women’s Equality Party
Professor Satnam Virdee
Alexia Pepper De Caires, Ngo Safe Space
Bianca Errico
Khadija Khan, Journalist
Shreya Sinha
Ulrike M Dr Vieten, Queen’s University Belfast
Mike O’brien, Labour Party Member Standing For Police & Crime Commissioner
Annette Pryce, National Education Union
Peter Conlin, B13 Resident
Shamma Vanat, Southall Black Sisters
Simeon Shtebunaev, Birmingham City University
Prof Catherine Donovan, Durham University
Millie Wild
Tracey Evans
Jacqueline Gruhn, Unison
Isla Alexander, Grampian Branch of The Women’s Equality Party
Ashika Thanki
Jim Denham, Labour Party, Unite
Les Beaumont
Shabanah Fazal, Ex-teacher
Emma Robertson
John Cahill
Vidya Ramachandran, Southall Black Sisters
Professor Naomi Goldenberg, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
Jacqui Dearden
Helen James
Jane Pehlivan
Shernaz Dinshaw, Activist
Alexandra Jones, Surviving Economic Abuse
Ellen Gordon-bouvier, Oxford Brookes University
Leah Jewett, Outspoken Sex Ed
Cheryl Shagan
Finn Mackay, Sociology, Uwe Bristol
Helen Beckett
Dr Camille Warrington
Gurpreet Virdee, Women And Girls Network
Anita Johal, Rise
Stephen Burrell, Centre For Research Into Violence And Abuse, Durham University
Paula Nolan, Liverpool Domestic Abuse Service
Sonia Mehta, Sawcc London
Julie Barton
Jane Jutsum, Director of Business Development, Solace Women’s Aid
Robert Bollard
Amanda Stokes, Primary Academy
Clare Campbell
Lisa Gormley, Centre For Women, Peace And Security, London School of Economics
Feminist Fightback
Donney Samuel

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Last modified: September 24, 2020
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