Muslim women do not need saving, says female leader of mosque at centre of charity run row

"As a woman, it's ridiculous that people think we need saving people don't really understand our religious values, she said. Of the run, she said: The format was designed for a specific community, taking into account that we wanted men and their children to participate. We did offer at the beginning to women, but I only got one or two. I can't do a race with one or two women."

"We haven't banned people this is what the community wanted. We've got a congregation of 10,000 they'd be up in arms if we had done something that was not proper. Critics think they're sticking up for women's rights, but they're dismissing that we have a voice and a choice in what we do. Nobody asked us; they just assumed we were banned but women feel comfortable in a women's space."

East London Mosque staged a Muslim Charity Run open to men, boys of all ages and girls under 12. Female attenders preferred women-only events and demand was too low to hold a separate race. The mosque offered inclusion to women initially but only received one or two registrations, making a female field unviable. Critics accused the mosque of excluding women, prompting media attention, condemnation from the communities secretary and dozens of hate-mail messages. Mosque leaders stated that women have agency and choose women-only spaces, and reported intensified hate crime and increased security risk after the coverage.

Read at www.theguardian.com