Amina’s story: the justice system, faith, and carrying shame

Amina grew up in a close-knit Muslim family with her mum and two younger sisters. As the eldest daughter, it was important to her to work hard and excel academically. She earned a science degree and later trained as a teacher.

“I was sociable and really career orientated. I’d just finished my teacher training course and was working in a supply teaching role. I was looking forward to building my career in teaching.”

In her personal life, things weren’t going so smoothly. Amina ended the relationship that she was in as it was abusive. And from there, things took a turn for the worse. Her ex-partner continued to make unwanted contact: “he messaged me every single day, sometimes several times a day – it went on for months.”

Initially, Amina ignored it. But when it got too much, she built up the courage to contact the police for help.

The police issued a non-molestation order against her ex, which he immediately broke. “That was quite scary for me because I just thought: as soon as that’s been issued, how is he still contacting me?”

She feels little was done. “Two female police officers told me that the CPS wouldn't do anything and that it's best not to pursue it because it's very unlikely for it to go any further.”

A broken system

Amina continued to ignore unwanted calls and messages from her ex, but they didn’t stop. In desperation, she contacted his employer and told them what was happening. He lost his job as a result.

“I didn’t want him to lose his job. I just wanted someone to say, ‘leave her alone.’ But this only made things worse, he contacted the school where she worked, which meant that she too lost her job.

“He knew I really loved that job, so because I contacted his employer, he thought, ‘okay, let me get her back.’”

Even after she’d lost her job, the unwanted contact continued. “After a few months I went to the station to report it again and the officer told me that he'd filed a report against me, and I needed to do an interview.”

From a complaint to a conviction

For Amina, this was the moment everything shifted. She’d asked for help to stop the harassment from her ex, but suddenly she was the one accused of wrongdoing, a process that would ultimately leave her with a conviction of her own.

Amina was left waiting for two years before her case reached court, a long, uncertain stretch that took a serious toll. “I was anxious about what would happen. I was out of work and living off my savings and didn’t apply for any jobs in that time.”

Nearly 70% of women in prison or under probation in England and Wales are survivors of domestic abuse, and for many, their convictions are a direct result of that abuse and being failed by a system that punishes them instead of protecting them (Centre for Women’s Justice, 2025).

The weight of shame

Amina was convicted for Harassment with Violence and given a community sentence. “It was an emotional time for my family and me. They went through all the court proceedings with me and saw how broken I was. It didn’t just affect me. It broke my whole family”. Her conviction carried huge personal weight, as a Muslim woman in a headscarf, the eldest daughter, and a role model to her siblings she felt she was “letting everyone down”.

79% of Muslim women in a UK prison study reported experiencing domestic abuse, with many saying that abuse was directly linked to their offence. Cultural constructs around shame and honour have been shown to prevent women and girls from seeking help around domestic abuse or mental health. And an individual’s actions can have huge consequences for her whole family or community (University of Birmingham, 2021). For women like Amina, the shame of a conviction isn’t just personal — it can extend across their families and communities.

When the time came to start looking for work, Amina struggled with the idea of disclosing to employers – she feels this was exacerbated by her faith. “Sitting there in my headscarf as a very visible Muslim woman, there’s a lot of shame there for me”.

She found a job working in a call centre where she did well but felt unsatisfied with her career. “I thought, that's it. My dreams are shattered, and I'll just have to live with it.” Even though she was working, she struggled with feeling like she’d let her mum down.

“My mum wasn’t happy. She’d raised us as a single parent and sacrificed a lot to make sure her daughters were well educated. After all that studying, she felt a bit let down by what I was doing. I used to feel she was quite embarrassed.”

Finding Working Chance

“I didn't feel like I was doing right by myself. I knew I deserved a lot better. So, I reached out to Working Chance.”

And that’s when things started to change. Having to explain her conviction to a potential employer was daunting.

“The disclosure was the main thing. It was very nerve-wracking. My Employability Coach helped me loads with that part. Having someone empathetic who understood my point of view made all the difference.”

With Working Chance by her side Amina started to rebuild her confidence, self-belief and started job searching again. She found a teaching vacancy locally and thought the role would be a perfect fit for her skills.

“I got a call back on the same day of my interview and they offered me the job! I rang my Employment Advisor straight away and she was so happy for me! My family were really happy too.”

Today Amina is back on track with her career, working as a teacher in a school, a job she loves, “I never, ever once dreamed I would go back into teaching.”

Every day, women like Amina are held back from employment because of a conviction. Your support helps them rebuild their careers and their confidence.

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