Britain Forces Muslim Women To Learn English  

KABUL: (MEP) British prime minister, David Cameron said Monday, Muslim women are strictly required to learn English in the country and those who fail to grasp such standard could face deportation from Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron announced Monday.

A £20m ($28.5 million, 26 million euro) fund to teach Muslim women in the United Kingdom to speak English will tackle segregation and help them resist the lure of extremism, Cameron added.

Cameron noted, there was no “causal connection” between poor English and extremism, language lessons would make communities “more resilient”.

“Poor English skills can also leave people “more susceptible” to the messages of groups like Islamic State (IS),” he stressed.

Immigration rules already force spouses to speak English before they come to Britain to live with their partners.

However, Cameron said they would also face further tests after two and a half years in the country to make sure their language skills were improving.

Speaking with BBC, Cameron said “You can’t guarantee you will be able to stay if you are not improving your language,” adding that “People coming to our country, they have responsibilities too.”

The government says 190,000 Muslim women in England — about 22% of total living in England speak little or no English – a factor it argues is contributing to their isolation.

Segregation, the prime minister says, is allowing “appalling practices” such as female genital mutilation and forced marriage to exist, and increasing vulnerability to recruitment by so-called Islamic State (IS).

He is also announcing a review of the role of Britain’s religious councils, including Sharia courts, in an effort to confront men who exert “damaging control over their wives, sisters and daughters”.

Mr Cameron said the push on language was “about building a more integrated, cohesive, one nation country where there’s genuine opportunity for people”.

He said some “menfolk” in Muslim communities were fostering segregation by preventing women from learning English or leaving home alone, and that could not be allowed to continue.

There is “a connection with combating extremism” too, he argued, and improving English was important “to help people become more resilient against the messages of ISIS”.