By Rawan El-Itani, Iman Jaura and Shuaib Amin
As Graduate Associates at MLegal, we have spent the year discussing, researching and presenting on policy issues affecting Muslim and marginalised communities. Last month, we had the opportunity to join the team and shadow them for the day, an experience that gave us a rich insight into how policy is actually made.
Where Ideas Take Shape
The day began with a lunch meeting where the MLegal team presented their research and work on Islamophobia and antisemitism, joined by representatives from civil society organisations working on the same issues. For Rawan, the session was notable above all for what it modelled: “Muslim and Jewish colleagues come together to advocate for the protection of minorities and challenge discrimination.”
We then sat in on a conversation between MLegal and those civil society organisations, an experience that gave us a rare view into how ideas move from grassroots concern to policy recommendation. Iman found it invaluable simply to observe the process, describing it as “fascinating to hear… about their work on Islamophobia, antisemitism and the varying forms of racial abuse.” As an aspiring policy professional, she was struck by “the practicalities and limitations of policy work,” particularly how long it can take for ideas to reach the table and be carried forward, tempered by “the importance of and the promotion of equality and justice.”
Shuaib came away with a similar but more structural insight, into how different forms of discrimination intersect in practice. Tackling Islamophobia, he noted, is rarely argued on the grounds of belief alone. It is often framed alongside gender inequality too, given the disproportionate impact on Muslim women whose identity is visibly marked. Antisemitism, he observed, carries a comparable but distinct dimension, where race compounds the recent rise in anti-Jewish hate crime. The result, in his words, reshaped how he saw the wider landscape: “What I initially believed to be a divided battle over who gets to be in the current policymaking limelight is more like a united front, where the strength of recommendations lies in their unity rather than in their individual political dynamics.” Building bridges between communities, he added, is “not only a grassroots social strategy but also a legal method that enabled each group to gain greater political representation without diluting their individual identities.”
Reflecting On Our Own Progress
Later, we met with Diana and Dr Aziz to reflect on our progress as Graduate Associates. It was a chance to share our own thinking as much as to absorb others’. Rawan valued the space to “share my thoughts, feel heard and gain a better understanding of the process of developing effective policy,” and singled out Dr Aziz’s framework of six steps for achieving a policy goal as a genuinely practical tool for thinking through how change gets made.
Parliament, Past And Present
We closed the day with an informal meeting with a member of MP Fabian Hamilton’s team, who gave us a tour of Parliament and spoke about the different career pathways into working there. Iman appreciated the layered perspective this gave the day, moving from a conversation about the link between policy and legislation with civil society groups to seeing where legislative change is actually implemented. She also came away with a clearer sense of “how legislation comes to pass and how it is discussed and voted on in practice.”
For Rawan, one moment stood out above the rest: learning about the small broom cupboard where suffragette Emily Wilding Davison hid overnight in 1911, using it as her address in an effort to establish a connection to the House of Commons and make a statement about women’s right to vote. Standing in that space, she said, was “a powerful reminder of the determination and sacrifices made by those who fought for political equality.”
A Grateful Close
Between contemporary efforts to tackle Islamophobia and antisemitism and a physical connection to the history of the suffrage movement, the day was, in Rawan’s words, “a powerful reminder that meaningful change is driven by people who are willing to speak up, advocate for others and take action.” Shuaib echoed this in describing why the Associates programme matters to his own development as an aspiring public lawyer, offering “fresh perspectives and in-depth analysis of the dynamics at play in developing policies.”
We are grateful to MLegal, to Diana, to Dr Mohammed Aziz, to the civil society organisations who welcomed us into their conversations, and to one another, for a day that left us inspired, better informed and looking forward to what the rest of the programme has to teach us.
