MUSLIM WOMEN IN MEDIA FACE ‘SYSTEMATIC ISLAMOPHOBIA AND DISCRIMINATION’

Thu 17 July 2025:

A new report on Muslim women in the media has revealed alarming rates of discrimination, Islamophobia and exclusion in the industry.

The Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM) has just published a rare glimpse into what a career in media is like for Muslim women, from systematic discrimination to unfair representation.

The anonymous survey was taken by 102 Muslim women with careers across print, broadcast, online media, journalism and more.

Whilst the rates of employment and visibility of Muslim women in media may seem higher than in the past, the report tells us that this is nothing more than tokenism aimed at filling diversity quotas.

“My identity was used for PR purposes, but then, actually, when it came to it, I was easily disposable,” said Saima Mohsin, a Sky News presenter.

The report exposes how women experience regular Islamophobia, toxic newsroom cultures, and suffer with their mental health, especially with the media coverage of the war in Gaza.

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To make matters worse, visibly Muslim women in hijab are particularly vulnerable to micro-aggression tactics in the workplace, along with stereotyping and pay disparities.

Considering the recent climate of rising nationalism and Islamophobia across the UK and Europe, it comes as no surprise that 92% of women said that negative views of Islam and Muslims are embedded within media organisations.

“I face Islamophobia every day,” said an anonymous participant, adding further weight to the disturbing finding that 72% of Muslim women experience direct discrimination as a result of their Muslim identity.

Other key findings revealed that 60% have considered leaving the industry altogether, or that 81% believe that Muslim women are unfairly represented in the media.

Oct 7 and the rise of Islamophobia 

According to the University of Cambridge, quoted in the report, the rise in Islamophobic attitudes and hostility towards Muslims in Britain are in part a direct cause of how mainstream media reports on the Muslim community.

Alan Moses, the former chair of the newspaper regulator IPSO (Independent Press Standards Organisation), said that the portrayal of Islam and Muslims in the British press had been the “most difficult issue” he had to monitor in his career.

He added that Muslims are “written about in a way that [newspapers] would simply not write about Jews or Roman Catholics.”

Mishal Hussain, profiled in the report, is one of the UK’s most prominent Muslim female journalists.

Thus, it comes as no surprise that Muslim women in mainstream media careers often grapple with their consciences, as they find their work conflicting with their morals and beliefs.

Following October 7th, 2023, numerous women reported how they felt silenced, targeted, or shamed for expressing sympathy with Palestinians or questioning media bias.

“I’ve never been so ashamed to call myself a journalist,” said one participant.

Another Muslim woman said that: “The coverage was straight out of the Israeli army playbook.”

Due to this, many women reported mental health breakdowns, or pressure tactics aimed at keeping them silent or “neutral” on the matter.

Above all, the report has revealed that Muslim women were very clear on what they wanted to change.

They expressed the need for mentorship, equitable pay, support networks and editorial inclusion. They don’t want token gestures, but rather real structural transformation.

Case study

Mars el Brogy is a journalist and award-winning multimedia executive producer who grew up in the Philippines.

She pursued a journalism degree at the University of Sheffield, doing whatever she could to jumpstart her career. But she remembers just how hard it was as a Muslim woman to break into the industry.

“I wrote hundreds of emails, introducing myself, begging for a chance,” she said, as a visibly Muslim woman of colour trying to pave her way in a male-dominated field.

Mars el Brogy was the first female Head of Production at Islam Channel. Image courtesy of Islam Channel.

Whilst Mars reports her experience as being one of hardship and perseverance, she didn’t compromise on her Islamic values. What she did have to compromise on, however, was how to balance being Muslim in the workplace.

She is clear that through all of her experiences, from climbing the steep hill to where she is now, the industry was, and still isn’t, built for someone with her lived experiences.

Nevertheless, Mars is committed to nurturing the next generation of journalists and broadcasters, particularly from diverse backgrounds. She’s facilitated placements, mentored emerging talent, and served in advisory roles.

Mars attributes her success to her hard work, skills and faith. She’s confident in her abilities and knows that she’s earned her place in the industry.

And she advises young Muslim women to find their purpose, skill up, be resilient, and carve their own path in the industry. She encourages them not to change who they are to fit in, but to be bold and authentic.