A prominent East London mosque has reversed its controversial decision to exclude women and girls over the age of 12 from participating in an annual charity fun run, following scrutiny from Britain’s equalities watchdog.
The East London Mosque, which organizes the Muslim Charity Run, had advertised the 5km event as both “inclusive” and “family-friendly,” yet imposed restrictions preventing female teenagers and adult women from taking part.
The contradiction caught the attention of The Mail on Sunday, whose investigation prompted an assessment by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The annual event, which has taken place since 2012 and was originally called Run 4 Your Mosque, occurs in Tower Hamlets. This east London borough is governed by the Aspire Party, established by Lutfur Rahman, a Bangladesh-born politician with a checkered political history involving electoral fraud allegations.
When the most recent run took place on October 12, Rahman defended the event’s policies, asserting there should be “no room for criticism” of its organization.
However, campaigners and politicians strongly disagreed with this stance. Shadow Women and Equalities minister Claire Coutinho expressed her dismay at the original policy, stating: “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.”
Critics characterized the ban as both discriminatory and harmful to community relations. Campaigners labeled the policy “plainly unlawful” and “regressively sexist,” raising questions about how such restrictions could be justified in modern Britain.
Human rights campaigner Aisha Ali-Khan offered particularly sharp criticism of the mosque’s leadership, suggesting that the watchdog’s response didn’t go far enough. “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,” she said.
Ali-Khan further emphasized the need for accountability: “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.”
Following the investigation, the Equality and Human Rights Commission confirmed that the East London Mosque has agreed to allow women of all ages to participate in future events. A spokeswoman for the watchdog stated that the mosque had “U-turned and promised to allow women of all ages to participate next year.”
The EHRC has now closed its investigation but remains vigilant. 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.”
