Enduring inequalities in British politics: Muslim women in the Labour Party

Abstract

This article combines an understanding of British politics grounded in the Asymmetric Power Model with intersectionality to comprehend Muslim women’s experiences in the Labour Party. This paper shows that an intersectional framework and an analysis of political parties’ relationships with their members are essential to understanding the enduring inequalities of the British political system. Muslim women are under-represented in our political system; they face multiple forms of discrimination (racism and sexism). Some Muslim men have and use their relative power over Muslim women through their use of biraderi-politicking, and Muslim women do not trust the Labour Party to support them.