A UK-based Islamic charity, the National Zakat Foundation, is set to open their third hostel to help homeless Muslim women. The charity has said that around 100 Muslim women, aged 18 to 72, have contacted them since their two other hostels in London and Birmingham opened last year. They will now open one in Manchester. The entirely Muslim funded charity worked with Trident Reach the People and Women’s Aid in finding suitable locations. Iqbal Nasim, manager of the NZF, was reported as saying, “The main difference between the new hostels and the ones that already exist, is that they also cater for the religious, spiritual and cultural needs of women who are often left traumatised by their experience.”
One of the women who live in one of the hostels said, “I feel safe here, I can practise my religion freely with other women. We pray together and read the Qur’ān. Sometimes there are also discussions about what the holy book says and it gives me inner peace.”