{"id":{"repo_id":"cambridge","oai_identifier":"oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/389861"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cambridge/oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/389861","repository":{"repo_id":"cambridge","name":"Cambridge University","base_url":"https://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Our safety isn’t guaranteed anywhere”: a qualitative study of the emotional geographies of safety and trauma among Muslim women in Britain","abstract":"What does it mean to feel safe for a Muslim woman in Britain? And which spaces are considered safe for them? For many, safety is not about the absence of harm, but a deeply personal and ever-shifting experience shaped by societal, emotional, and physical factors. Rooted in the framework of emotional geographies, this thesis explores the complex and multifaceted nature of safety for Muslim women in the UK. It investigates how their daily lives are influenced by the spaces they occupy, including public, private, and sacred areas, and the socio-political dynamics surrounding them. Through 40 in-depth interviews with Muslim women from diverse backgrounds across the UK and observations of two Muslim women-only spaces, this research uncovers a troubling reality: many Muslim women do not feel safe in the spaces they navigate daily, whether in wider British society, their own communities, or even religious environments. Safety, (if and when) it was found, is not a universal or fixed experience but rather one deeply influenced by personal circumstances and broader societal factors. The research also highlights that Muslim women’s sense of safety is closely tied to their experiences of trauma, both individual (e.g., discrimination and abuse) and collective (e.g., social hostility and global conflicts, such as the ongoing attacks in Gaza). These traumatic experiences have a significant impact on their perceptions of safety and their ability and agency to move through different spaces, both public and private. In confronting these challenges, the study identified the importance of women-only spaces in creating a sense of safety, belonging, and well-being for Muslim women. Such spaces provided a refuge for women from the judgement and scrutiny they typically encounter in wider societal and community contexts. Within these spaces, many found emotional healing, solidarity, and empowerment essential for navigating the complexities of the trauma they face. This study also discusses some limitations of these spaces, where factors such as ethnicity, religious sect, and differing interpretations or practices of faith have, at times, led to the very exclusionary practices it sought to protect its members from. Overall, this research highlights the need to examine why safety should be studied through the lens of emotional geographies, integrating both feminist and Islamic thought to understand how safety is produced, contested, and transformed across shifting political and social landscapes.","abstract_html":"What does it mean to feel safe for a Muslim woman in Britain? And which spaces are considered safe for them? For many, safety is not about the absence of harm, but a deeply personal and ever-shifting experience shaped by societal, emotional, and physical factors. Rooted in the framework of emotional geographies, this thesis explores the complex and multifaceted nature of safety for Muslim women in the UK. It investigates how their daily lives are influenced by the spaces they occupy, including public, private, and sacred areas, and the socio-political dynamics surrounding them. Through 40 in-depth interviews with Muslim women from diverse backgrounds across the UK and observations of two Muslim women-only spaces, this research uncovers a troubling reality: many Muslim women do not feel safe in the spaces they navigate daily, whether in wider British society, their own communities, or even religious environments. Safety, (if and when) it was found, is not a universal or fixed experience but rather one deeply influenced by personal circumstances and broader societal factors. The research also highlights that Muslim women’s sense of safety is closely tied to their experiences of trauma, both individual (e.g., discrimination and abuse) and collective (e.g., social hostility and global conflicts, such as the ongoing attacks in Gaza). These traumatic experiences have a significant impact on their perceptions of safety and their ability and agency to move through different spaces, both public and private. In confronting these challenges, the study identified the importance of women-only spaces in creating a sense of safety, belonging, and well-being for Muslim women. Such spaces provided a refuge for women from the judgement and scrutiny they typically encounter in wider societal and community contexts. Within these spaces, many found emotional healing, solidarity, and empowerment essential for navigating the complexities of the trauma they face. This study also discusses some limitations of these spaces, where factors such as ethnicity, religious sect, and differing interpretations or practices of faith have, at times, led to the very exclusionary practices it sought to protect its members from. Overall, this research highlights the need to examine why safety should be studied through the lens of emotional geographies, integrating both feminist and Islamic thought to understand how safety is produced, contested, and transformed across shifting political and social landscapes.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ulhaq, Ayesha"],"institution":"University of Cambridge","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Ozyurek, Esra"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-04-26","date_published":"2025-04-26","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:56Z","subjects":["emotional geographies","Muslim women","safety","spaces","trauma"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/3abe902c-076a-4dd9-839e-400cb85fc190/download","http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.121621","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.doi"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Ozyurek, Esra"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ulhaq, Ayesha"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-04-26"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cambridge"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby.uri","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby URI","values":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/389861"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["emotional geographies","Muslim women","safety","spaces","trauma"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/3abe902c-076a-4dd9-839e-400cb85fc190/download","http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.121621"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/bf250987-b84c-45cf-9920-8f234f5771b8/download"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["What does it mean to feel safe for a Muslim woman in Britain? 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Safety, (if and when) it was found, is not a universal or fixed experience but rather one deeply influenced by personal circumstances and broader societal factors. The research also highlights that Muslim women’s sense of safety is closely tied to their experiences of trauma, both individual (e.g., discrimination and abuse) and collective (e.g., social hostility and global conflicts, such as the ongoing attacks in Gaza). These traumatic experiences have a significant impact on their perceptions of safety and their ability and agency to move through different spaces, both public and private. In confronting these challenges, the study identified the importance of women-only spaces in creating a sense of safety, belonging, and well-being for Muslim women. Such spaces provided a refuge for women from the judgement and scrutiny they typically encounter in wider societal and community contexts. Within these spaces, many found emotional healing, solidarity, and empowerment essential for navigating the complexities of the trauma they face. This study also discusses some limitations of these spaces, where factors such as ethnicity, religious sect, and differing interpretations or practices of faith have, at times, led to the very exclusionary practices it sought to protect its members from. Overall, this research highlights the need to examine why safety should be studied through the lens of emotional geographies, integrating both feminist and Islamic thought to understand how safety is produced, contested, and transformed across shifting political and social landscapes."]},{"key":"dc:format.checksum.md5","label":"Dc Format Checksum Md5","values":["34c676a9b72136c9de5be74eafc14582","87eda9de84448d1f82354d60eee3eb5f"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Our safety isn’t guaranteed anywhere”: a qualitative study of the emotional geographies of safety and trauma among Muslim women in Britain"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Ozyurek, Esra"],"dc:creator":["Ulhaq, Ayesha"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-04-26"],"dc:description.abstract":["What does it mean to feel safe for a Muslim woman in Britain? And which spaces are considered safe for them? 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The research also highlights that Muslim women’s sense of safety is closely tied to their experiences of trauma, both individual (e.g., discrimination and abuse) and collective (e.g., social hostility and global conflicts, such as the ongoing attacks in Gaza). These traumatic experiences have a significant impact on their perceptions of safety and their ability and agency to move through different spaces, both public and private. In confronting these challenges, the study identified the importance of women-only spaces in creating a sense of safety, belonging, and well-being for Muslim women. Such spaces provided a refuge for women from the judgement and scrutiny they typically encounter in wider societal and community contexts. Within these spaces, many found emotional healing, solidarity, and empowerment essential for navigating the complexities of the trauma they face. 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