Source : World Bulletin / 2 Dec 2013

A UK-based Islamic charity, the National Zakat Foundation, is set to open their third hostel to help homeless Muslim women.

The charity has said that around 100 Muslim women, aged between 18 to 72, have contacted them since their two other hostels in London and Birmingham opened last year. They will now open one in Manchester.

The entirely Muslim funded charity worked with Trident Reach the People and Women’s Aid in finding suitable locations.

Iqbal Nasim, manager of the NZF, told the BBC "The main difference between the new hostels and the ones that already exist, is that they also cater for the religious, spiritual and cultural needs of women who are often left traumatised by their experience."

One of the women who lives in one of the hostels said "I feel safe here, I can practice my religion freely with the other women. We pray together and read the Koran. Sometimes there are also discussions about what the holy book says and it gives me inner peace."

Many Muslim women in the UK have suffered abuse for a variety of reasons. While some of them are British-born and are made to deal with non-Islamic cultural practices from the country of their parents’ origin, such as forced marriages and honor killings, others are new to the country and therefore lack social support and guidance.

In some cases, women from non-Muslim backgrounds who later convert to Islam are left to deal with the social and psychological pressures put on them by non-Muslim friends and family members. Especially if they live far from a Muslim community, they often find no one to confide in.