Social justice should indeed be the hallmark of policies tackling discrimination against Muslims (Editorial, 15 August) but it is surely time to recognise that the very title of the Prevent programme symbolises its weakness. A Promote programme emphasising tolerance, mutual respect and democratic values for people of all faiths stands a better chance than the negative approach implicit in Prevent, which has so far yielded little evidence of success.
Jeremy Beecham
Labour, House of Lords
• Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (Opinion, 12 August) is right to point out that the factors that dissuade Muslim women from entering the workplace are various and complex, but I’d disagree with her suggestion that there’s no one in “liberal society” who would dare challenge the unsatisfactory status quo.
My experience, both as a head of an east London comprehensive and, more recently, as a member of the board of Mosaic, an initiative of the Prince’s Trust, shows that there are many successful members of “liberal society” who are both female and Muslim and are giving up their time to counter the inequality highlighted in the recent parliamentary report.
Mosaic uses successful members of the business community to mentor small groups of young people in areas of deprivation around the UK. Its primary school programme is focused on Muslim girls and their mothers, and as the recent “graduation” ceremonies of the children from the programmes attest, there is a huge amount of positivity about the possibilities that a career affords them.
Small steps perhaps, but we know that these programmes have a significant effect – and when parliament calls for the government “to introduce a role models and mentoring programme aimed at Muslim women to help them realise their potential in employment”, I can’t help but think they should come and talk to us.
Bushra Nasir
Mosaic, The Prince’s Trust
• I am surprised more journalists do not write more critically on the “burkini ban” issued by the mayor of Cannes (Report, 13 August). Throughout history, women’s bodies have been clothed in a variety of time- and culture-specific ways. Men’s calves and codpieces were prominently displayed in earlier English history. Did anyone complain? Many Polynesian swimmers today wear body-covering sulus. Is this a problem for anyone? For a variety of time- and culture-specific reasons “western” women prefer to display most of their flesh, although they didn’t in the 19th century. Leave Muslim women alone. Let us all wear what we like and celebrate diversity.
Elizabeth Eastmond
London
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