Scottish govt allocates 270,000 pounds to aid Muslim women facing domestic abuse

Edinburgh, Apr 15 : Scotland government is learnt to have decided to allocate 270,000 pounds for a women group committed to support Muslim women subjected to domestic abuse in the country.

Amina, the only group specialising in helping female victims of violence from Islamic communities in Scotland, will receive a share of a total of 22-million-pounds government payout announced to organisations involved in tackling domestic abuse.

The women-help group plans to train more groups, including the police and prosecutors, on specific issues that affect Muslim women, and encourage more victims to come forward.

Nughmana Mirza, of the Glasgow-based project, said that the money would also be used partly to "explode the myth" that Muslim women are more likely to suffer violence due to their faith.

"A lot of the problems are cultural. There is a strong sense of shame about coming forward to report domestic violence, as women feel their community will disapprove. We need to get over that," the Scotsman.com quoted Ms Mirza as saying.

The project has received more than 100 calls from women in the past six months, Ms Mirza said, adding: "There's a need to make other support groups aware of the issues affecting Muslim women. For example, lots of people don't know the difference between arranged marriage and forced marriage."

ANI