London: Women who wear the hijab at job interviews in the UK are being actively discriminated against as part of the ‘institutional racism’ Muslims face, a group of MPs warned on Thursday.

A report by the Commons Women and Equalities Committee has revealed that Muslim women are the most economically disadvantaged group in British society, adding that they are three times more likely to be unemployed and looking for a job than women generally and more than twice as likely to be economically inactive.

Highly qualified women are often being overlooked because of assumptions they are ‘submissive and weak’, with some feeling they have no option but to abandon traditional Islamic dress in order to get a job, according to the report, which is titled Employment Opportunities for Muslims in the UK.

Committee chair Maria Miller said: “The evidence was very strong that … it was seen as acceptable to discriminate against Muslim women and that [people] almost didn’t see it as discrimination.

“You can’t have some women more equal than others. Everybody is subject to the same law in this country and Muslim women can choose to dress in the way that they want in the same way that other women can and shouldn’t have to suffer discrimination as a result of it.

“One of the young women who gave evidence to us told the committee in an informal sitting that she had decided not to wear a headscarf and was struck by the different way she was treated both by people she didn’t know but also people she knew.

“There is a distinct level of institutional racism that is being endured by Muslim women and we must be open about that.”

The report, which has called for urgent action by the government, suggested the biggest cause of the ‘acute’ disadvantage Muslim women face in UK society is their religion.

“The impact of Islamophobia on Muslim women should not be underestimated,” it said. “They are 71 per cent more likely than white Christian women to be unemployed, even when they have the same educational level and language skills.”

The committee noted that Muslims as a whole faced the highest level of unemployment of all religious and ethnic groups, at 12.8 per cent compared with 5.4 per cent for the general population.

The report also said that the government’s conflation of integration with counter-terrorism has exacerbated the inequalities felt by Britism Muslims, leading to a breakdown in trust that left some individuals reluctant to talk to the inquiry.

Omar Al Hamdoun, deputy secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), told Gulf News: “We welcome this report as it identifies there are positive contributions made by Muslims in British society, while it also highlights some important issues that need to be tackled and makes some good recommendations. We hope the government takes them on board.”

Responding to the report, a spokeswoman said: “The government is committed to making Britain a country that works for everyone. We want all people, regardless of their faith or gender, to have access to the same opportunities so that they can reach their full potential.

“We are making progress — for example, there are now 45 per cent more Muslim women in work than in 2011 — but we know there is much more to do.

“We will look carefully at the recommendations and respond in due course.”

— The writer is a freelance journalist based in the UK