I am still waiting for the outcome of a Labour Party process in which I have engaged in good faith over the two and half (plus) years regarding my ex-husband.
It has been over a month since I was told I would hear of the final outcome, and this week I still have not even been told why there is a delay, and when I would be able to expect it.
This continues to hang over me and makes it very difficult for me.
The process has been extremely distressing and damaging to my health in and of itself – requiring pages and pages of extensive personal information about my life and an almost week long hearing in which I had to give virtual evidence in presence of my ex-husband.
I have felt gaslit and have continually expressed my serious concerns at the Labour Party complaints procedure and whether it is able to respond appropriately to domestic abuse.
I feel a duty to all survivors of abuse. I have been contacted by women from all over the UK and locally, concerned about the treatment I have received.
I have persevered because all I have ever wanted– is a chance to live freely and have equal opportunity as a Labour Party Member and a Labour Member of Parliament.
This has not just not been the case.
The ongoing harassment, the brutal vexatious eight-day trial in 2021 and the illegitimate trigger process conducted whilst I was certified off sick in 2022 are unjust, undemocratic and unacceptable.
I have had to cope with this alongside the heightened Islamophobic abuse, the death threats and risks to my safety.
I note the unresolved issues regarding the treatment of Black and Asian people within the Labour Party, as set out by the Forde Report.
I remain very concerned as to how I continue to be treated as a survivor of domestic abuse and as the first and only hijab wearing MP.
The way in which I continue to be treated as a survivor of domestic abuse and the UK’s first and only hijab wearing MP cannot continue.
