National Muslim Women's Advisory Group

This article is part of the Counter-Terrorism Portal project of Spinwatch.

The National Muslim Womens Advisory Group (NMWAG) is an initiative set up by the Department for Communities and Local Government in November 2007 to "influence and challenge the false and perverted ideology spread by extremists and give our young people the skills and knowledge to turn their backs on hate". It is led by 19 women, who "represent a wide spectrum of communities, professions and traditions" who will not only work toward preventing violent extremism, but "discuss issues and concerns...affecting Muslim women, for example access for women to mosques and their management committees and cultural barriers including honour crimes and forced marriages".

Objectives

According to the DCLG, the specific remit of the NMWAG will be to:

• "act as ambassadors for Muslim women at grass roots and represent their views and concerns to Government;
• provide leadership to communities and act as positive role models for Muslim women in society;
• empower Muslim women to engage more with the media on a wide range of issues and help dispel myths around the role of Muslim women in society;
• meet in the form of a round table to discuss issues and concerns that are affecting Muslim women eg access for women in Mosques."