In 1996 there were only 4 Muslim women councillors in Britain, but the number has since grown. Responding to calls for a more intersectional approach to the study of political representation, which no longer sees gender and race as the only sites of marginalisation, I will reflect on what a more dynamic mobilisation of categories can tell us about the presence of Muslim women in British politics. My paper is based on ethnographic research and semi-structured interviews conducted with women councillors between September 2014 and April 2015. In revealing these women’s narratives and extremely diverse experiences, I will move beyond reductive commentaries and over-simplified identity categorisations to disclose the importance of their inclusion in the political system, particularly at a local level. I will finally conclude by outlining some of the challenges/opportunities that present themselves when ‘becoming visible’ as Muslim women in the current British political arena.
