When reading the article Islam, Women and Sport: The Case of Visible Muslim Women (Jawad, H. (2022)) Jawad discussed the intersection of a visibly Muslim woman and their access and participation in sports. The concepts of modest fashions and gender segregation were of interest to me as I try to understand the impact the fashion studio environment and our teaching of clothing construction may impact Muslim men and women. We teach garment construction through a very European lens and I often have concerns around the comfort of students and the intimate nature of working on the body and creating clothing. The university does not provide changing spaces for models (who are often fellow students) and some of the garments designed by students leave the body very exposed/nude.
In some interpretations of the Qu’ran, some Muslim people segregate according to gender and practice modest dressing. “(Prophet), tell believing men to lower their glances and guard their private parts… tell believing women that they should lower their glances, guard their private parts, and not reveal their charms except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters, sons, their womenfolk, their slaves, such men as attend them who have no sexual desire, or children who are not yet aware of women’s nakedness;” (Qur’an 32:32-33) I am interested in the idea of gender segregation and how this can conflict with the rights of transgender and non-binary students of all faiths and some Islamic sects views of where they fit into gender segregated spaces.
I felt that there is a difficulty in catering to all belief systems and values when they may conflict with one another. I teach students who are trans and cisgender, Muslim people of colour. They may have differing interpretations of the Qu’ran and conflicting beliefs. I also then consider the people who do not become fashion students or enrol on the course due to the perception and space in the fashion course and this conflict with their beliefs. For the purpose of this post I will focus upon Islam and some branches beliefs.
This led me to seek out the voices of trans Muslim people and found Sabah Choudrey and their TED Talk “Brown, trans, queer, Muslim and proud” Choudrey, S. (2015). Choudrey discusses their experience as a trans, Muslim, British Pakistani person and their experiences of their intersectional identities. “I feel there is an assumption in society that the communities I am a part of don’t all fit together… You can only be one minority at a time. That I am too queer to call myself Muslim.” It was fantastic to hear Choudrey discuss their journey and how through lack of representation they doubted their own feelings, from the measure of their ‘transness’ by their transition journey, to their perception of beauty against ‘whiteness’, to their perception of themselves as a trans Muslim person, distancing themselves from their faith as they struggle to marry their ‘queerness’ with their religion. “I felt I was appropriating an Islam that wasn’t mine”.
By discovering community at an event run by Inclusive Mosque Initiative, an organisation that defines themselves as “an intersectional feminist mosque dedicated to creating inclusive, safer places for marginalised Muslims and their families” (Inclusive Mosque Initiative, 2024), Choudrey felt inspired to reclaim their faith. “Hearing women and queer people speak about Islam, that’s revolutionary… questioning my own faith is a part of my own faith, this is my Islam”.
An Al Jazeera article about a debate held at UCL which was accused of gender segregation showed a variety of opinions about the contentious subject. The university had offered provisions to allow for men and women to sit separately in certain areas if they wished. One of the attendees said “I might be going to a secular university, but all I am asking for is a little bit of accommodation, keep an open mind.” The article then spoke to the director of a human rights and counter-extremism organisation who claims women are drastically under-represented within Islamic organisations in the UK. “The problem is that in Britain we have a dominance of very socially conservative interpretations of Islam, and sometimes people don’t base their views on a more contextualised understanding which is more respectable to women… A lot of the legal rulings have been around for thousands of years and the respected scholars lived in a pre-modern era where the idea of gender equality was not normalised. Those rulings are still applied today regardless of whether they are suitable for the context, regardless of whether they are causing injustice to women.”
I feel uncomfortable and conflicted through my research and feel I could write a lot on the topic and am struggling to show the plethora of opinions on gender and Islam. I want to respect all peoples belief systems but I have an issue when this leads others to be rejected and persecuted. I am concerned about how we tackle both transphobia and islamophobia and the difficulties that arise in protecting both groups and intersecting individuals rights and how we measure progress through a western lens. How do we as staff and as a university cater to and protect the rights and beliefs of all people in our communities? Is this actually possible? How do we encourage people of differing faiths and beliefs to enrol on the course and make these spaces welcoming, whilst also protecting the rights of others, which may not be acknowledged by those with more conservative beliefs?
*Word count excludes quotes 651 words
Choudrey, S. (2015) Brown, trans, queer, Muslim and proud | Sabah Choudrey | TEDxBrixton, YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6hxrZW6I9I (Accessed: 11 June 2025).
Connelly, A. (2014) Muslim gender segregation stirs UK debate, Al Jazeera. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2014/1/30/muslim-gender-segregation-stirs-uk-debate (Accessed: 11 June 2025).
Ganeri, A. (2002) The quran. London: Evans.
Greenberg, Y.K. (2020) The body in religion: Cross-cultural Perspectives. London, England: Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Jawad, H. (2022) Islam, Women and Sport: The Case of Visible Muslim Women. [Online]. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglobalsociety/2022/09/islam-women-and-sport-the-case-of-visible-muslim-women/
Krutzsch, B. (2022) Breaking down gender binaries, building Muslim community, The Revealer. Available at: https://therevealer.org/breaking-down-gender-binaries-building-muslim-community/ (Accessed: 11 June 2025).
Lewis, R. (2019) Modest fashion: Styling Bodies, mediating faith. London, England: I.B. Tauris.
Muslims for progressive values (no date) Muslims for Progressive Values. Available at: https://www.mpvusa.org/ (Accessed: 11 June 2025).
What we do (2024) Inclusive Mosque Initiative. Available at: https://inclusivemosque.org/our-mission/ (Accessed: 11 June 2025).
Yancy, G. (ed.) (2016) White self-criticality beyond anti-racism: How does it feel to be a white problem? s.l.: Lexington Books.
Interesting read. I like that you sought out some other references to help with your reflections.
I think this question of how do we do it is really normal and I am not sure we can ever get away from it. In my final report I will be mentioning some resources to transformative justice and brave spaces. Maybe that could help you to formulate a stance on how to handle students with clashing beliefs.
I think we can never fully ensure problems don’t arise , but we can decide how we will handle them when they do.
Thank you Fred, this is really helpful and I will do further reading around transformative justice and brave spaces, as well as looking at the readings you shared in the intervention presentation. It is also good to know I am not the only person grappling with this subject!
Hi Charlie,
Thank you for your honest and inciteful post.
I welcome your open and relatable approach and appreciate your practical reflections on your teaching environment: fashion studio/garment construction. I can only imagine how challenging it must be to address the topics of modest fashion and gender segregation within the working spaces as described.
Given your noted challenges of how garment design is taught: largely through a European lens, the sensitivity and intimacy of the physical processes involved in designing for and dressing the body, and practicalities and limitations of changing spaces etc – I wonder if this is an area you might perhaps consider exploring further either in your Intervention, or ARP?
In my teaching practice on Graphic Media Design – while we encourage students to give careful consideration to the broader issues surrounding faith, religion and belief, given the area of study and within the context of their intended design outputs, GMD project outputs are rarely so closely aligned to the body – clearly as are yours.
I share your discomfort and conflict as described and I hope that exploration via the PgCert of these complex topics might create a space in which you can create some possible positive strategies to carry forwards in the studio. Have students ever expressed opinions or views on any of the points as described?
Thank you again for sharing.
Thank you for your comments Kelly, it is reassuring to hear you have also struggled with conflicting beliefs and values and how to accommodate them. I will be seeking out student feedback around my proposed intervention, but on a separate note I will be approaching management around the need for changing spaces within the studios.
Your mention of garments made me wonder, have you ever encountered students wanting to recreate specific fashion styles related to culturally significant clothing? If so, how does your course approach culturally appropriate representation? It reminded me of the Olympic opening ceremony outfits, like those worn by the Mongolia and Haiti teams, a blend of modern fashion and cultural heritage.
I also appreciated your discussion about gender segregation and its complexities in relation to trans and non-binary identities. This is an area I’m less familiar with, so I found your writing particularly valuable and helpful for me to learn.
Your closing questions highlight some important challenges I also recognise. Creating a safe and brave academic space is important, but managing risks around sensitivity and extremism can be difficult. As Fred commented on my intervention plan, we can gradually introduce these topics, helping students process them with care. It’s also our responsibility to curate content thoughtfully, perhaps drawing on successful practices.
Thank you of your comments Herman, I can see you have really considered the content of the blog post. Unfortunately I do not have much involvement in the conceptual/design elements as I am a technician. However I have noticed there are interactions where students are often teaching members of staff and visiting guests around the nuances of cultures and potential insensitivities that occur from appropriation. Although it is inspiring to see students take on this role, I don’t believe it is their burden to bare, and there should be more specific DEI training around this.
It is reassuring to hear you experience similar challenges around creating brave spaces in the classroom and trying to ensure everyone feels respected in the class. I would love to have a discussion around this and agree with Fred’s approach.