NHS Muslim Women’s Network began with two women, Sajidah Ahmad and Sabina Hafesji talking about the challenges and micro-aggressions they have faced at work. This conversation gave birth to the idea of setting up a network for Muslim women working in the health sector to come together.

In this Q&A with MWN Hub, Sabina Hafesji, Co-Chair of NHS Muslim Women’s Network shares the backstory on how the network began, its achievements and impact.

Tell us about the inspiration behind NHS Muslim Women’s Network

Sajidah Ahmad (co-founder and former co-chair) and I met (virtually) in early 2020 where our conversation turned to discussing the challenges and microaggressions that we both had faced in our career history as Muslim women in the workplace and specifically in health and care services given that’s where we work.

We talked about the “triple penalty” as identified in the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee report where Muslim women are often at a disadvantage due to virtue of being a woman, Muslim and most often from a Black and Minority Ethnic background.

We wondered what more we could to do raise awareness about these issues and how we could support other Muslim women in similar situations working in the health sector to overcome the challenges, and the idea for the network was born!

When did you decide to set up NHS Muslim Women’s Network?

We had the idea for the network in early 2020, but as we dealt with the seriousness of Covid-19, was going to put our plans on hold. However, it quickly became evident that the women in our network were facing issues related to working in the pandemic, and we wanted to try to help. Creating a safe space for women to come together and share their issues (via a WhatsApp group initially), meant we were all able to support each other to find solutions. We were also able to provide relevant feedback to the NHS and healthcare organisations via NHS Confederation’s work about issues relating to working during the pandemic. For example, finding suitable PPE to wear with hijab and the challenges working during Ramadan, as outlined in a report I wrote.

How did you get the word out about the network?

We started out by sharing information about the network with our peers and colleagues via word of mouth, which was then cascaded and shared by members to their counterparts. The success of the WhatsApp group and social media played a part in sharing information about the network, including via bulletins and other forms of communication. We also spoke to other existing networks and Equality Diversity Inclusion (EDI) leads to get advice on forming a network. Having a big community of supporters and allies has also played a huge part in the success of our network. I would love to use this opportunity to mention Joan Saddler of NHS Confederation and Sam Allen, chair of the Health and Care Women Leaders Network, for their continuous support and allyship.

What are the priorities of NHS Muslim Women’s Network?

Four key network objectives were identified in terms of the network’s ambition to support Muslim women working in the NHS and the wider health and care sector to reduce inequalities and improve their lived experiences.  These objectives have been developed and agreed by network members. 

Providing a safe space for Muslim women working in the NHS and the wider health and care sector to raise their concerns, in a safe and confidential environment. Setting up a forum for creating opportunities for networking and aiding professional development, innovation, good practice and supporting career progression. Actively working to reduce inequalities for Muslim women by improving the lived experiences of Muslim women using and working within the NHS and wider health care sector. Developing a policy and system for influencing and contributing to wider policy discussion, research, development and decision making.

A key aim of our network is also celebrating Muslim women and their achievements and we share this as much as possible. Recent examples include network member Waheeda Abbas winning the Nursing Times Midwife of the Year award, Samira Ben Omar being a multiple winner of the HSJ  50 most influential Black, Asian and minority ethnic people in health award and Dr Aaliya Goyal and Asma Nafees winning the Equality X top 50 Influential Muslims in Europe List.

How does the network support Muslim women working in the health sector?

Our WhatsApp group (which is optional) can get quite active but is a great way for members to support each other in a safe space as well as finding practical solutions to some of the issues faced. Members have used it to organise meet-ups over dinner or connect during external events like conferences. These get-togethers have led to friendships developing and even mentoring opportunities. 

Our members would really like more coaching and mentoring opportunities, especially from other Muslim women. Last year, we launched a pilot coaching scheme, which we would love to expand further.

During the summer riots, members shared the challenges they were facing both in the workplace and in their day-to-day life, some of this was outlined in a report, Anti-Muslim Hate: concerns and experiences. A series of safe space sessions were organised on MS Teams for members to speak openly about the impact of these events, share their experiences, raise concerns, and identify opportunities for the network to amplify member’s voices. Huge shout out to network member Afsana Aslam, who led this work on behalf of the network.

How has membership grown over the last four years?

We now have hundreds of members in a range of professions across the health sector. These include (but is not limited to!) students, nurses, midwives, mental health professionals, doctors, EDI and HR professionals to social workers. Our members are mainly based in England, but as we are a UK wide network, we also have members in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland too.

Is the network an independent network and why?

We are a network representing the members working across health and care services in the UK and are not aligned to any one organisation. Being an independent network means we are not restricted in what we can say and are openly able to reflect members feedback on various issues. A recent example of this is co-signing letters urging the UK government to call for a ceasefire and to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Another example is from earlier this year during the summer riots, the network released a statement asking health and care organisations to recognise and call out specifically anti-Muslim abuse faced by our members and Muslims in particular; and to provide advice and support on how best to support Muslim women, many of whom are visibly Muslim and therefore likely to experience higher levels of threat.

Does your network collaborate with other networks within the health sector, such as NHS Muslim Network and British Islamic Medical Association? 

We believe in the power of networks and working collectively together with other organisations. We have found a lot of support in working collaboratively with a number of other health networks and organisations and given we’re a smaller organisation, we really appreciate being able to work with other organisations, especially where we have similar aims and objectives.

Some examples of our collaborative work includes joining forces with the national NHS Muslim Network and Muslim Doctors Association (MDA) to celebrate the contribution of Muslim colleagues in the NHS as part of NHS 75 where we had some fabulous speakers including the brilliant Dr Nighat Arif. We partnered with APNA NHS and British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA) on a webinar that was hosted by NHS Employers on how to support staff during Ramadan which had over 200 attendees. We collaborated with APNA NHS last month to hold a webinar for our members and allies for Islamophobia Awareness Month (IAM) in association with BIMA and NHS Arden & GEM CSU.

We are also fortunate to have close working relationships with NHS Confederation and their EDI Leadership networks BME Leadership Network and Health and Care Women Leader’s Network and are members of their Network of Networks, where leads and chairs of other similar networks come together to connect, provide support and share learning and good practice.

In what ways are you different from these networks?

The network is solely focused on Muslim women working across the NHS and wider health and care services in the UK. Our network is unique. It’s for Muslim Women, by Muslim women and puts our issues front and centre.

What impact has NHS Muslim Women’s Network had on feeding into Equality, Diversity and Inclusion practices within the NHS?

In 2023, we presented at the Health and Care leaders network International Women’s Day conference, sharing statistics about the impact of Islamophobia on job prospects and mental health and wellbeing for Muslim women. This was a really important awareness raising session, where other speakers included the CEO of NHS England, Amanda Pritchard. We have presented at other similar sessions for organisations across health and care services, including staff network meetings and meetings with senior leaders to highlight the challenges that Muslim women may face in the workplace and what colleagues and employers can do to support them.

We have convened a private roundtable, working with NHS Confederation, where our members were able to speak directly to senior leaders in the NHS and share their lived experience and what action they would like to see happen. This had a profound impact on these leaders and their allyship continues in supporting the network to this day.

We also worked with NHS Supply Chain so that members could contribute to a consultation looking at National Healthcare Uniform. We provided a collective response to ensure that EDI issues feature in their work, which included ensuring there are modest options of the uniform available.

What are the next steps for NHS Muslim Women’s Network?

We are always looking for ways to support our members and continue to raise awareness of the challenges that Muslim women face working in the health and care sectors, as well as celebrating our members achievements.

A couple of our network activity for 2025 includes, launching a leadership committee for the network to help expand the work of the network with various leads to take ownership of certain aspects of network activity (including a co-chair to work alongside me as Saj stepped down earlier this year). Joining forces with MWNUK for Muslim Heritage Month so we can showcase some of our members and their brilliant achievements!

If you are a Muslim woman working or studying in health and care services and would like to join the network, send an email to muslim.women@nhs.net

NHS Muslim Women's Network also welcome the support of allies. If you would like to be kept informed of network activity, then email us on muslim.women@nhs.net