By Sham

“There’s no point in voting because it doesn’t change anything.” How many times have you heard this? Too often we hear the same comment, which serves only one purpose, to disempower. 

To make any meaningful change, you have to engage. You need to listen to opposing views to provide an alternative perspective. You need to actively engage to bring about change. If you don’t take risks in life, you will end up staying where you are and the rest of the world will leave us to remain: unheard and undervalued.

There are nearly 2 million Muslim women and girls in the UK. We are the fastest growing religion worldwide. That is a lot of votes and if we put our mind to it, we can, as a collective Muslim women population, help shape policies.

The best way to tackle the current issues that face us is to have a voice and casting a vote.

While it is really empowering to see Muslim women increasingly becoming active in the political landscape and our voices are being heard; we still are under-represented within the political arena, continuously faced with the same diatribe of being oppressed. However hard the climb is, we can achieve it by remaining collective in our pursuit to address the barriers preventing social justice and have equality for all.

Voting is an opportunity to make our societies better, not just for Muslims, but for everyone.

As a Muslim woman myself, I will be voting because I want to exercise my civic duty. I want a say in what is going on in my local community and I want to vote in the best person to take on this important job.

If you need more information about this year’s elections follow this link https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voting-and-elections/voter-id and don’t forget your photo ID.