Questions regarding belonging and citizenship are currentlyforefront in the minds of UK Muslim women after recent critical focus from Prime Minister David Cameron and former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Trevor Phillips.

To help both ensure a successful integration and fight extremism, Citizens UK, a charitable voluntary organization launched its Commission on Islam, Participation and Public Life in July of 2015. The commission is currently holding a series of public hearings throughout the UK, asking Muslims to identify the barriers that prevent their participation in society.

But, there are concerns regarding whether singling out Muslims is most effective in helping their integration into society. Instead, it may prove to do the opposite, making those UK citizens who are Muslim feel further alienated.  And, none would feel this more so than Muslim women, for their religious dress immediately identifies them causing discrimination from their countrymen, and furthermore, they face discrimination from their own religious communities.

The Blackburn Muslim Association, an affiliate of the Muslim Council of Britain stated that women should not be able to travel further than 48 miles without a male chaperone.  The Croydon Mosque published a document titled, Advice for the Husband and Wife, which says that “a woman should seek her husband’s permission” when leaving the house. Additionally, in online advice, the Central Masjid (Mosque) of Blackburn stated that “Facebook has opened the doors for sin. Muslim girls and women alike have become prey to this evil.”  These are just a few examples.

And, while it is not a good thing that these women face oppressiveSharia law within their religious communities, it may present a buffer that separates them from extremist groups – something they may have considered if they had only experienced alienation from their country.

But, for the time being, these women can do little else but air their frustrations in the Citizens UK public hearings. One such woman, Sahar al Faifi, a geneticist at the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) and the assistant secretary general at the Muslim Council of Walesrecently summed up her frustration eloquently, “Because of the face veil I am wearing I have lost count of the verbal and physical attacks. This is what life is like for young Muslims in Wales. If I report all of this I would spend half my life in the police station – this is how the situation is. I don’t go to UHW using the same route and change the route every time because I am expecting to be attacked every second. I am not exaggerating. We are no longer seen as part of society but as ‘other’. Muslims are the victims today but who was the victim yesterday? The Jews. Who will be the future victims? I want laws to protect me and my sisters and all people.”