Loading...
Gender, religion, and political violence: lessons from Muslim women's experiences in UK elections
Akhtar, P. Jenichen, A.
Akhtar, P.
Jenichen, A.
Publication Date
2024-12
End of Embargo
Supervisor
Rights
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Women, Gender, and Politics
Research Section of the American Political Science Association. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits
unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Peer-Reviewed
Yes
Open Access status
openAccess
Accepted for publication
2024-06-13
Institution
Department
Awarded
Embargo end date
Collections
Additional title
Abstract
Violence against women in politics is on the rise, threatening political achievements with respect to equality. Little research, however, has been conducted on the experiences of women from minority communities. This article, therefore, takes an intersectional approach to explore how gender, religion, and other categories of difference intersect when it comes to Muslim women’s experiences in the UK. Based on a longitudinal case study of Bradford West during the 2015, 2017, and 2019 general elections that combines participant observations, qualitative interviews, and a Twitter analysis, we argue that, in addition to the violence often experienced by women, Muslim women are also confronted with Islamophobic bias and abuse, as well as intersectional intimidation and harassment from within the Muslim community in their constituencies. Our case study approach, however, also reveals the existence of appreciation and support for Muslim women in politics that needs to be nurtured to counter abuse.
Version
Published version
Citation
Akhtar P, Jenichen A and Intezar H (2024) Gender, religion, and political violence: lessons from Muslim women's experiences in UK elections. Politics & Gender. 20(4): 834-857.
Link to publisher’s version
Link to published version
Link to Version of Record
Type
Article