New councillor wants to stop 'free mixing' between men and women

[SeaSwim5]

Independent candidate Maheen Kamran has been elected in Burnley.

As well as support for Gaza, her manifesto included a pledge to encourage public spaces to end free mixing of men and women.

"Muslim women aren't really comfortable being involved with Muslim men. I'm sure we can have segregated areas, segregated gyms."

Is this a sensible approach and important for inclusivity? It's notable that many anti-Trans activists advocate the importance of single-sex spaces.

However, some have raised concerns about the growing sectarian nature of UK politics.

Should we be looking to reduce 'free mixing' between men and women and create more single sex spaces?

As a British Indian I feel like it’s almost my duty to speak up. Because so many of my white friends and family are so utterly scared of being accused of racism.

The fact that you can’t even say that we want to retain a certain British way of life in this country is BONKERS.

And I will say the worst people I have come across in this debate are middle class white women who haven’t considered the natural consequences of their virtue signalling. Extremely selfish!

Women’s rights in this country need to be protected. A LOT of women in the world have next to no freedoms. We cannot let that happen here. The burka, segregation, multiple wives is a way to control women. Pure and simple. It’s a very very slippery slope.

No

It would be better, in my opinion, if people try to live by the values of the country they move to rather than imposing their beliefs that are completely counter to them. Thats what integration is right? At least thats what my immigrant grandparents did. They became british and lived british values before privately help ones like religion. We have plenty of single sex provision where it matters and some people should put more effort into adapting to the winder community they find themselves in.

but now people move to an area where they can become a voting majority to get political power and change things to suit them and if the other groups complain say hey this is democracy.

for people who really want democratic plurality and actual diversity to remain as values, we need to keep an eye on it.

everybody is welcome to live in Britain and be British and hold their religious beliefs, but not welcome to spread the Ummah to a population that doesn't want it, especially not by stealth.

I take issue with your use of ‘anti-trans’ to describe a position taken to protect women, but why shouldn’t people support something for one reason and not another?
I want single sex spaces where appropriate, because men’s behaviour means women need private and safe places when vulnerable. Not because God says it’s wrong for men and women to mix.

It really isn't. Do you pay church tax?

There is no "state religion".

Are you Celtic?

Why would you presume that? Feminist argument: If a space is said to be for women, that doesn’t include transwomen.
How does that translate to supporting women-only libraries, theatres and so on?
If youare, for some reason, trying to say that feminists and Islamists want the same things, that’s clearly wrong.

Single-sex sessions in council run facilities eg pools are fine.

I don’t know about other areas but I live somewhere where there are single sex sessions in council run pools and gyms. I don’t have an issue with that. I wouldn’t like to see it in other places though like libraries etc as mentioned in this thread,

I'm 60 years old and have been pootling round various gyms, village and church halls doing classes etc for years.
Most of the gyms I've been to with pools and saunas have had women's and men only sessions as well as mixed sessions in the sauna.
I've been to gyms where the men's behaviour leaves much to be desired so I've moved on.
At my current gym I've had more issues with the super skinny young women in lycra and full make up who seemed to spend most of their time taking selfies and sneering at me in my baggy t-shirt and red sweaty face.
I even went to a women only gym where where there was a definite clique of women who were mates with the instructors while the rest who just wanted a keep fit class where ignored
If Ms Kamran just wants women only gyms she might find they aren't all great. But a quick Google will tell her that there are a number of such establishments already in Burnley

Apologies @IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle , I should have said “England” not UK although as I understand it the Church of Scotland is recognised as the national religion of Scotland but not the “state” religion as it is in England. @Smallmercies the British monarch is the supreme governor of the CofE, the church is constitutionally established by the State.

Gyms and swimming pools as single sex spaces by the choice of the owner or for certain srssions is one thing, but I would not want any measures that would affect access to activities for children. Fathers must be allowed to take their children to playgroup or swimming and access changing facilities etc..

Their laws are very strict for any level of disobedience. Our laws aren't. I remember an arab bumping into me in a pool at a hotel in Dubai, he was nearly crying in apology such is the strictness of everything.

My muslim friend tells me that Muslim women and girls are fearful of Muslim men. Young females are being groomed and raped etc. So, if Muslim women want to be away from Muslim men, fine put in place women only gyms and pools etc. Many other women might like that. I've noticed women only hairdressers are coming back too or hairdressers have rooms set out for Muslim women. These are all fine imo.

Ref general public spaces, no. I like pubs restaurants, parks, art galleries, museums, public transport etc just as they are.

Silly Burnley for voting in this person. Did they not read her manifesto before voting? Or is the area predominantly Muslim? I live in a city which has 25% Muslim residents. We have several independents who didn’t do well in the last election due to similar policies, specifically focussing on Gaza. So even some of the Muslims here didn’t vote for her. Maybe in Burnley they were so focussed on her Gaza policy that they didn’t read the small print, ie bonkers policy on no mixing of sex’s in public places.

As a child learning to swim, I preferred the "ladies' sessions" in our swimming pool - they boys had a tendency to play "pranks" involving removing the stoppers from swimming rings, etc.

As a grown woman on holiday abroad, I found myself avoiding a certain swimming pool because the (British) men there - no oil paintings themselves - had made disparaging comments about my figure. (They didn't seem to realise that I was an English speaker.)

I recall that my late mother always preferred attending "ladies' sessions". I can totally understand why.

And yes - women/girls can make disparaging remarks about other women/girls - but there's a certain edge to it when men do it.

no, it isn't the same thing at all.

As the other poster said, the UK does indeed have a state religion. The monarch is the head of the Church of England.

This is not a case of opinion, or whether or not you think the UK should have a state religion; it is a simple statement of fact that the UK has a state religion.

No. The Church of Scotland is not recognised as the church of Scotland. It is not the "national religion" of Scotland. There is no "national religion". The Church of Scotland doesn't have schools.

The Church of Scotland isn't even part of the Anglican Communion although the Scottish Episcopal Church is a member of the Anglican Communion.

But at Centre Parcs, families will want to swim together. Hardly fair that dad and brothers can’t swim with the females in the family to accommodate needs of a minority.

The UK does not have a state religion.

Is this a sensible approach and important for inclusivity? It's notable that many anti-Trans activists advocate the importance of single-sex spaces.

There's a huge difference between segregating men & women in all areas of public life because of religious beliefs which not all members of the public share (be these beliefs CHristian, Muslim, or Jewish) , and separating men & women in specific situations where women/girls are vulnerable - places.situations where they might be partially or wholly unclothed for example, or carrying out intimate actions eg medical examinations, changing clothes, toileting, being cared for in these ways by others.

And if you can't see this @SeaSwim5 then you're either a bit hard of thinking, or you're trying to stir it up deliberately.

@HotCrossBunplease As for this new councillor, if a majority of her constituents want to segregate men and women for religious reasons, why not take steps to facilitate this?

Do you really not understand the dangers inherent in following this path? It's Burnley. In Britain. If some of the people living there are in favour of religious segregation, my polite response would be to fuck off back their cultural and religious homelands.

When Brits are banged up in Saudi for drinking or kissing each other on public beaches, what's your response to that?

And mine is full of Gaza supporters, arranging little gatherings at the traffic lights with their ‘support Gaza’ buckets. Which isn’t going down well. At all….

Many 'women's rights' activists oppose trans people having any rights at all.

Not a single woman posting on MN has ever advocated for that.