An-Nisa Society
The An-Nisa Society was established in May 1985 by a group of young British Muslim women who wanted to respond to the needs of Muslim women and their families, whilst identifying themselves as Muslims. Hitherto services had been provided on the basis of race and ethnicity alone. A multi-ethnic British Muslim identity was not recognised, so the fact that Muslims needed faith to be taken into account when delivering services had been overlooked. The Society found a community that was socially excluded and rife with disadvantage and deprivation caused by a misunderstanding and neglect of Muslims and their needs.
Over the last 25 years, the organisation has been working to achieve its mission of promoting a 'positive British Muslim identity by promoting societal change and personal growth'. By participating in conferences, seminars and various forums and working groups as well as contributing to legislation and policies, An-Nisa has led the way in creating awareness of Islamophobia as well as being a strong voice in consultations on issues such as the Single Equalities Bill, forced marriage, teenage pregnancies and antiterrorism and community cohesion.
As part of its drive to promote understanding of Muslims and to better address their needs the Society has also developed a consultancy service which delivers training for those who work with the Muslim community. The consultancy also delivers training and support to the Muslim voluntary sector to strengthen this sector which is particularly important in light of the lack of community infrastructures available to Muslims in need. This community development also extends to support of individuals and families by running self-development and Islamic education courses as well as a comprehensive range of other accessible training courses.
The group has worked particularly hard to develop networking and joint working within the Muslim community as well as with mainstream agencies and other communities. They set up the Islamic Counselling Network and Institute of Islamic Counselling and Psychotherapy. Likewise An-Nisa has been involved in numerous inter-faith projects; they run Jewish-Muslim study workshops and are members of Jewish-Muslim, Christian-Muslim and Multi-Faith forums.
The organisation has become a prominent contributor to cultural, arts and public speaking events, as well as regularly liaising with the media and others to provide advice and information relating to Islamic issues. They have also organised workshops for schools and institutions.
Since its inception, An-Nisa has had many notable achievements, some more publicly recognised than others, including the following awards:
'Healthy Alliance Award' 1999: An-Nisa Society, in partnership with Brent and Harrow Health Authority from North Thames Regional Health Authority
'Excellence in Addressing Issues of Social Inclusion' 2003: From Brent Primary Care Trust & Brent Health Action Zone
Lifetime Achievement Award 2003: Khalida Khan, Director, An-Nisa Society, from ASPIRE, BME Health Workers Network
In Recognition of Outstanding Contribution to Health Inequalities 2006: From Brent Health Action Zone and Brent Primary Care Trust
project started:
2010 An-Nisa Society
Unit 15, Space House
Space Business Park
Abbey Road
London
NW10 7SU
phone:
+44 (0) 20 8963 3153
email:
Email contact form 
