Cash-hit charity which rescues women from forced marriage faces closure

By The Press Association6th January 2016News EnglandCharities, Forced Marriage, London, News England, Victim Support, Vulnerable Adults

An award-winning charity, which rescues women from forced marriage and hundreds of young people from radicalisation, faces closure in a matter of months if it does not receive further funding.

Founded in 1989, JAN Trust was originally set up to support marginalised and isolated communities in north London, but has since expanded to reach people across the UK.

However, it only has sufficient funds to keep its services running until March 31 this year.

Sajda Mughal, director of the charity, said that their work had “saved lives” and that she would “dread to think” of the consequences if the charity closes down.

“We have worked one-on-one with victims and intervened in cases of honour-based violence within families, FGM (female genital mutilation), forced marriage, and even cases where a woman’s life has been at risk at the hands of her own family.

“We’ve worked with schools and hundreds of young people who are at risk of radicalisation, and have successfully prevented some from getting involved in extremism and going to Syria.

“I dread to think what would happen to people like this if we weren’t here to do what we do.”

She said that the trust helps around 200 people at any one time, by providing courses and support centres, as well as more specialised services, to people – mainly women and young people in ethnic minority groups – who need help.

For Ms Mughal, 33, her passion for supporting anti-extremism causes came after her experience as a passenger on the Piccadilly Line Tube train which was bombed on July 7, 2005, killing 52 commuters.

She said: “About 10 seconds into my journey we heard an explosion and the lights went out. I thought we had derailed and never in a million years would have thought it would be a bomb.

“I was in complete shock: I thought that the next train would crash into us, that there would be a huge fireball and that we would all be burned to death. I thought that was when I was going to die.

“Later on, when I heard it was a bomb attack by a group of Muslim males, I was completely taken aback. As a Muslim myself, I know that in the Koran it says that, if you take a human life, it is like killing the whole of humanity. So these men had a very warped idea of Islam.

“So it got me thinking, why had they done this and who had brainwashed them? What effect would this have had on their mothers, their families and their communities?

“This is where my passion comes from, and when users of our service say that we have saved them, or members of their family or friends, this is what motivates me.”

Ms Mughal said she has received death threats and has had her property vandalised for the work that she and the trust do.

However, her key concern is that without renewed funding, which comes mainly from philanthropic organisations, the charity will have no choice but to close down from April 1.

She said: “Politicians talk about how we have to do more to support anti-terrorism efforts, but sometimes they need to put their money where their mouth is because there are organisation out there actually doing effective work. This is a real plea for help.”

To find out more about the trust, visit their website at: jantrust.org/about-us, or the JAN Trust page on Facebook.