Women and girls over the age of 12 have been banned by a mosque from taking part in a charity fun run, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The 5km event being held in an East London park today – which has been billed as 'inclusive' and 'family-friendly' – is open to men and boys of all ages, but organizers insist that female teenagers and women can be forbidden from joining in.
The fundraiser, called Muslim Charity Run and organized by East London Mosque, is being held in Victoria Park in Tower Hamlets.
The local authority is run by the Aspire Party, set up by Bangladesh-born politician Lutfur Rahman, a former Labor councilor who was removed from office for electoral fraud in 2015, but re-elected in 2022.
Bordering on trendy Hackney, the area is often frequented by the capital's hipsters and artists.
But the move by East London Mosque to ban females over 12 from the event comes amid growing concerns about the rise of Sharia values taking precedence over British laws and traditions in communities across the country.
Last night, after being alerted to the Muslim Charity Run's segregation rules by The Mail on Sunday, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said it would assess the case.
Outraged campaigners said banning some women was 'plainly unlawful' and 'regressively sexist' – and accused the organizers of being more 'conservative' than Saudi Arabia.
Baroness Shaista Gohir OBE, the chief executive of the Muslim Women's Network UK, said the East London Mosque, which is behind the event, was 'likely' in breach of the Equality Act.
And Kellie-Jay Keen, founder of feminist group Party Of Women, said: 'Banning women and girls over the age of 12 from a public charity event is plainly unlawful… and reinforces regressive sexist attitudes towards women's place in public life.
'No charity should be allowed to operate under a different set of rules because of religion or culture. Equality before the law must apply to everyone.'
The annual event, originally named Run 4 Your Mosque, has been held in Victoria Park since 2012 without drawing any public criticism of its anti-women policy.
But the MoS is aware of one woman, who goes by the name 'Farahyd89' on social media, who has repeatedly attempted to raise the issue with organizers.
She wrote on Instagram: 'Why aren't women allowed to join?' and in another post she said: 'Why are you not allowing women to even walk? Your grandmothers and mothers with prams are also not welcome?'
On its website, the event claims to be an 'inclusive' family day out that allows 'men, boys of all ages, and girls under 12' to take part.
When pressed by the MoSon whether that meant teens and older women could not run, the East London Mosque organizers confirmed that they are banned.
Despite that, mosque leaders last night insisted that their policy was not in contravention of the Equality Act, which makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the grounds of their sex.
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