Let’s see if the regressive left will write about this, decrying sex-segregation by a university society. After all, that noxious strain of Leftism already decries sex-segregation in restrooms (let me hasten to add that I’m in favor of having some unisex bathrooms), so clearly the same group would object to gender segregation at social events, right? But I wouldn’t hold my breath, because when it’s Muslims doing the segregation, it’s apparently okay.
I must be brief, as I’m off to lecture, but according to multiple sources, including the Torygraph, the Daily Mail, the Metro and ite, the Islamic Society of the London School of Economics held a “gala evening” at the Grant Connaught Rooms in London. At the event, males and females were separated by a seven-foot screen, unable to mingle or even see each other. Further, the “brothers” and “sisters” had to buy their £20 tickets by calling different phone numbers.
Here’s the screen:
But apparently there was some sneaking around the edges:
On its Facebook page, the Islamic Society has justified this segregation:
The report in The Daily Mail spoke against the seating arrangement by suggesting that it may be in violation of the university’s policy on gender equality. As a society, we reject any suggestion that our Annual Dinner contravened the LSE’s Equality Policy. The guidelines explicitly state that segregation is permissible both in the event of religious ceremonies and when it is voluntarily chosen. The curtain was in fact set up at the request of our members and the layout of the room was necessary for the facilitation of three prayers, a spiritual sermon, and Quran recitation. Furthermore, the seating arrangement at the event was not mandatory, as there were numerous spaces around the venue that allowed men and women to mix freely. It is important to note that the coverage of the event was entirely false and written with an islamophobic agenda.
“Voluntarily” chosen? Give me a break! Look at the “brother” above trying to talk to a woman! Before the Islamic takeover of Afghanistan and Iran, there was none of this nonsense, so it’s not an inherent part of Islam, and back then, when there was a real choice in a more Westernized society, men and women would mingle.
Further, according to the Torygraph, “the LSE’s student union defended the event as being held in a ‘relaxed’ atmosphere where men and women did interact with each other.” A Student Union official also said this:
Nona Buckley-Irvine, the head of LSE’s student union, told the Daily Telegraph there were no tensions in the room and the event was amicable.
She said: “I went as the head of the students union because I support our faith societies. There were absolutely no tensions, it was a relaxed evening. Brothers and sisters were co-hosting the event, which was one of the best I’ve been to. It was a celebration of each other and each other talents.
“Men and women were talking throughout and everyone went through the same entrance.”
They went through same entrance! Well isn’t that equitable! Buckley-Irvine added, “‘I had a lovely time at the dinner and barely noticed the separation between men and women.” What? She didn’t notice the seven-foot screen? Did she get to sit with the men?
Now it’s just possible that this gender segregation, which we’ve seen at other official student events in the UK, didn’t contravene any university guidelines. The Metro notes this (my emphasis):
A spokesman for LSE told the Metro the issue will be raised with the society and student’s union.
He said: ‘LSE follows the EHRC guidance on this matter, and regards gender segregation at events on campus or organised by LSE or the LSE community as contrary to the law, except for certain exceptions such as occasions of religious worship or where segregation is entirely voluntary.
‘This dinner was a private function, off-campus and organised by a society of the Students’ Union, which itself is a legally separate body to LSE.’
Here we have the “entirely voluntary” canard, then. But that’s bogus, for the event was segregated from the outset, with “brothers and sisters” having to reserve their tickets by calling different phone numbers. And as for its being a “private function”, well, the Islamic Society’s own Facebook page says this:
. . . . LSESU Islamic Society (ISoc) for our flagship Annual Dinner hosted on Sunday. This decade-old event commends ISoc students’ achievements throughout the year, and celebrates the contributions of its members towards the wider LSE community.
That doesn’t sound like a private event, but rather part of the ISoc’s activities.
Finally, if this event was kosher (pardon my French), why will the issue even be raised with the Student Union and the Islamic Society?
Now of course Muslims can segregate the sexes however they want in their mosques or private functions, but not at events connected with British universities. This appears to be a case of the latter, though the event was held off campus. Further, it’s clear that not all the Muslim women students liked it: two of the reports mention some Muslim women who either objected to the segregation or who stopped going to these events because they were opposed to the segregation.
Let us be clear about this: the segregation is based on an interpretation of Islam in which mingling with women is supposed to arouse men’s barely-controllable lust, so that women are regarded largely as catalysts for the release of testosterone. And this is also combined with the second-class status conferred on women by many branches of Islam, so that they must worship from the rear of the mosque, remain veiled or covered, or, under sharia law, see their legal testimony worth only half of a man’s.
That’s reprehensible, of course, but religions can do what they want. But when operating under the aegis of a public university in a democratic country with legal gender equality, that right comes to an end. The same would hold if there were an ultra-Orthodox Jewish Student Society that tried the same sex-segregating gambit.
I don’t know what’s more pathetic: twenty-first-century human beings adhering to this regressive form of misogyny and segregation, or its defense by feminists and student unions who, while supposedly progressive, turn a blind eye to the subjugation of women by Muslims. The same blind eye is turned away from Muslims’ demonization of gays, an act tacitly supported by some student LGBT societies.
We cannot have democracies in which some groups, operating under the aegis of government bodies like universities, practice values inimical to basic equality. Let’s see which “progressive” groups concerned with social justice will speak out against this kind of segregation.
