Has everyone seen the photo of the Archbishop of Canterbury presenting an award to Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi? If not, please have a look

[TheStateWeAreIn]

I don’t know what to say really, I just want as many women on MN as possible to see this picture.

Particularly Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi‘s wife.

There’s so much going on there.

(I know there’s another thread about the award and it’s subsequent withdrawal, I just wanted to start a thread to focus on the photo)

Good idea!

Afghanistan just legalised child marriage and has banned girls from attending school. Iran recently executed a 16-year old SA victim for "fornication" or indecency or some such. Making them wear Burqas seems to be a slippery slope.

Liberating?! Ah those women in Afghanistan must just LOVE that the Taliban are back in charge. So liberating for them 🤦🏼‍♀️.

/s - obviously!

Regardless of whether it’s “her choice” or not. No woman (or man) should be allowed by law to dress in such a way to obscure their entire face whilst in the UK or any other western country for that matter.

Then it’s a shame that so many Muslim men and clerics have chosen to present / expect / advocate for this performative Islam. It would be helpful if those who advocate for a more accurate interpretation of the Quran and Islam would speak up and reprimand the others who misrepresent the religion, adopt a more misogynistic approach and are being performative instead.

They seem thrilled (sarcasm).

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rIWQIButL4

As I said on the other thread, the AofC is a disgrace. Squandering £100m of church funds on reparations and now this.

I would sign a petition to get her defrocked or removed from office.

How many non-muslim women voluntarily choose to cover their faces and/or bodies specifically in the presence of men?

If it's something that women voluntarily do, then why is it only muslim women who cover themselves in the presence of men?

Well one thing we know about what he thinks of AB Mullally is that he refused to take the award from her, because she is a woman and si had "sullied" the document by touching it. Instead his wife took it from her.

I wonder if they had to do a special cleansing ceremony for it to become worthy for him to touch or whether he considers it eternally defiled from her touch.

And it was for promoting religious tolerance ! When he has no tolerance for the woman stood next to him !

But why are you so shocked, OP? That religion is horrendous for women. We all know it. It's not exactly news.

I wish the government would roll out the red carpet benefits-wise for any woman living in the UK who wants to escape that life. Housing, free education/training, whatever they need to be able to stand on their own two feet eventually.

Religious liberal courting somebody from a religion that are lot of people have concerns about in a bid to look terribly right on and progressive.

The antithesis of being a feminist, despite claiming in January 2026 that she would speak out against misogyny, the AofC thought it was acceptable to stand with a woman who had to cover herself so that men other than her husband would not be so overcome with lust that they could not control themselves.
Coupled with his alleged connection to Lashkar-e-Taiba, one wonders if maybe she might have better used her time doing less praying and instead conducted a little due diligence or even a quick Google search.

They could wear blinkers to narrow their field of vision, like horses! 🤣

She’s looking daft, but I’m sure she’ll get over it.

And the fact that in many countries, Muslim women seem to manage fine with just a headscarf, somehow makes it even worse.

A family friend comes from libya but has lived in the UK for the last 30 years. She dresses in western clothes in the UK but a burqua and hijab when she returns to Libya annually to see her family- not for religious reasons but because the men in her home country have openly sexually assaulted and abused her if she wears anything else or is outside the family home unaccompanied. She's in her late 40's, with grown up sons, and,still has her dress and conduct dictated by male strangers. It's much worse for younger women without her status.

Gavin Ashenden summed it all up well very I thought.

Utter disgrace of Sarah Mullally. She really doesn't have a clue.

I am disappointed in the C of E's first female archbishop and her advisers, who should have found the Bin Laden link before awarding the prize. For more than 20 years, I have supported the banning of face coverings in the UK, including the burqa and the niqab (to the discomfort of Labour Party comrades). The photo sends out a message to women who worship in the C of E (I am an occasional one) that the church continues to tolerate the suppression of women. Inter-faith dialogue and religious tolerance are important but this is no way to promote them.

I’m not shocked at the religion, I do know what it’s like, although this is the extreme end of the spectrum we see in the UK.

I’m shocked at the Archbishop of Canterbury, that a powerful woman who has the influence to do some good in the world has chosen to go along with this to get herself some liberal “tolerance” brownie points.

Deleted to stick to the women’s rights issue

There are millions, possibly billions of Muslim women all over the globe who don't cover their entire faces like this. This is extremism being normalised.

I minded when she voted against the assisted dying bill "because of her faith"

I absolutely agree with you. Women need to be hugely vigilant about protecting their very recent and hard won rights. We should not be being seen to condone a faith that promotes its women subjugating themselves.

...but fine with the oppression of women and celebrating terrorism (see my previous comment about that tapestry in Leeds Cathedral).

Great idea! Solve a lot of problems too.