Welcome...

Muslim Girls Fence (MGF) started in an East London school in 2016 as a collaboration between British Fencing and Maslaha. Since then with the financial support of organisations like Sport England and Comic Relief, the project has engaged with over 2000 Muslim women and girls across four major cities in England.

It’s been incredible to see how impactful the project has been for the participants, helping boost their confidence levels, challenge stereotypes and support their sense of belonging. The programme has been a lifeline for women and girls who have been physically inactive for most of their lives, supporting communities which traditionally haven’t had access to a wide range of opportunities.

Through fencing and creative workshops, MGF has facilitated community-led spaces at a grassroots level for Muslim girls and women, with sessions that challenge assumptions and narratives relating to their gender, racial, religious and other identities as well as providing opportunities to fence!

With your help we can do so much more.

We invite you to join us on our impactful journey as we seek to raise £1.5 million over the next 5 years to deliver our exciting mission to supporting many more Muslim women and girls in communities across the country.

What is Muslim Girls Fence?

The project is a collaboration between British Fencing and Maslaha, and brings together their experience and expertise in building a model of delivery that puts the needs of the community first.

It centres the needs of Muslim Women to help address the deep-rooted inequalities in sport, meaning people who are ethnically and culturally diverse, are less likely to be physically active.

Key Features:

Delivered by women from the local community.

Delivered in both schools and community settings

Open to women and girls of all ages and ethnicities.

How Does a Project Work?

1. Community Engagement

We engage with key stakeholders, local organisations and women from the community to establish needs of the group.

2. Training

We train and upskill a team of instructors to deliver a series of sessions meeting the needs of the group.

3. Delivery

We deliver a 3-6 month programme of creative and fencing sessions, delivered coherently alongside each other to allow the women to express themselves both physically and creatively.

4. Showcase

Local and national partners, funders, family and friends are invited to celebrate the group’s creative and fencing achievements at an exhibition event.

5. Long Term Support

Support from BF and Maslaha continues beyond the initial 3-6 month programme, ensuring the projects are embedded in the community in the long term.

Ingredients for Success

1. Designed with each community

Our approach of ‘doing with’ as opposed to ‘doing to’ communities means that we see the groups take ownership and shape the programme to practically do what they need it to do. We facilitate and support making this happen.

2. Working collaboratively

For the long term success and sustainability of each project, we connect with local and national stakeholders who can support, promote and help develop the projects in each city. We engage with the relevant organisations to support the developments in each city.

3. Developing People

We continually invest in local women and organisations to deliver and lead the sessions. We aim to develop a bespoke personal development plan for each instructor, which will support them with the skills to continue their projects over years to come.

The Story So Far

>2000 sessions delivered

2000+ participants since 2016

70% retention rate

60 women trained as instructors

12-15 = average number of women per weekly session

4 cities, Birmingham, Bradford, Doncaster, London

Our Future, with Your Help

We need your support to grow, maintain and support new and existing projects across the UK.

We have a £1.5 million target fundraising goal over 5 years.

What does this support?

30k = Will maintain and further develop one of our projects over one year.

70k = We can set up a new project in an existing location and maintain it over two years.

100k = Would provide leadership and professional development support for 20 women involved in the project.

200k = Means we can create 4 projects in a new geographical location in the UK, maintained for a year.