I am not sure what we can do, apart from the usual (writing/e-mailing MPs, making noise). Probably the most useful thing to do is to donate money.

Thanks. I’ll send you the postal order anyway.

I broadly agree with you on the language issue.

There are normally quite a few Farsi speakers in the office but with their heavy caseload of clients at serious risk of abuse I don’t think they have the time to get involved in blog wars.

Our charity number is 1104550.

Who, exactly, decides which organisations get funding? Why, for example, does the IKWRO get it’s smallish grant cut, yet the Quilliam Foundation can get towards one million? I don’t get it!

Notwithstanding my suspicion that economic migration is the motivation for most asylum claims, I accept that a genuine asylum seeker should have access to language and translation services. However, we should also ensure that they are provided with every opportunity, encouragement and assistance to learn English as quickly as possible. I believe that this is doubly important for women, as it would help break the isolation from British society which allows abuse to occur unchallenged.

I would take it a stage further. I would make English lessons compulsory. That would ensure that women in abusive and oppressive environments could not be prevented from learning English by their fathers or husbands.

Do you think that compulsory English lessons might be an excellent opportunity to inform these women about their rights and opportunities in this country as well as the support networks available to them?

And on another matter altogether,

Do you have a Farsi speaker in your office, possibly with a knowledge of Tehran (the Tajrish and Niavarhan part of Shemran) who might have two minutes to post a few subtle cultural, language or food questions and possibly geographic questions that only an Iranian should be able to answer quickly? If they use Farsi they’ll have to write phonetically in Roman script.

It’s an odd request, but it might save some of the commentators here so much time and stress spent trying to expose me as a ‘white’ non-Iranian imposter!

Do it for Jai. For Sunny. For Kulvinder. And Persephone.

Because I care about them. I really do.

PS. If you’re a registered charity I’ll send you a postal order for £50. Promise.

I often wonder too how we end up with A Level students and graduates who don’t speak or spell English properly after having gone through the whole UK education system. I normally blame it on the overuse of spell check and emphasis on course work based assessment. Others no doubt prefer to assign it to the evils of multi-culturism.

A few points about this.

Is there any way this this decision can be meaningfully protested? The arguement the government usually uses is that front line services are not subject to cuts, although that is maybe pre credit crunch.

If the bulk of clients are asylum seekers it is completely unreasonable to expect them, at the time of entry to be fluent in English, although I agree with persephone that it should be an early priority.

I appreciate that this is a relatively small charity, but it does good work. For that reason, I have made a (pitifully small) donation.

It is the sort of institution that would, perhaps, make me proud to be British.

How would you fund and test for such a ‘value’ mindset? When you answer can you also include those who are already citizens and residents of any colour/religion/race. Because if the British culture & values are to treat women equally and we are all bound by it, it should apply across the board, citizen or no, indigenous or no. Y’know like transportation to Australia.

I am all for a level of everyday English skills being sought for in immigration applications. But even those whose first language is English find difficulties in dealing with our legal phrases and processes.

An idea.

As an iranian and with your vested interest in alleviating the ‘by products’ of ‘multi-culturism’ it would be quite fitting if you offered to help as a volunteer, seeing that as a successful immigrant from Iran you could help those who have not been as successful in gaining entry to the UK. It would be putting back into the country you have benefitted from which I know is close to your, erh, heart.

Of course there are some similarities between certain ‘ethnic’ women’s experiences: the fixation with ‘honour’ being a significant part of this – which was one of the reasons IKWRO collaborate with Karma Nirvana in working the Honour Network Helpline.

Why can’t we produce statements of ‘integration and compliance with British law’ and force any immigrant wishing to live here to sign it.

Make it clear that this type of crime will result in severe penalties and (if the perpetrator is a foreign or dual national) the compulsory deportation of everyone involved.

That would get the message across.

We already have strict laws against it. The problem is changing mentalities. I also have no problem with the idea that people should be deported, after serving their sentence, if they have committed a crime, that, say, is punishable by a year’s or more imprisonment.

Do Iranian and Kurdish women really have needs that can’t be met by a general ‘ethnic’ women’s rights network?

Well, there’s the langauge aspect, as well as the fact that Iranian and Kudish women are more likely to go to an organisation they will feel comfortable with.

And if the language-barrier is an issue, unless the women concerned are genuine asylum seekers, then surely we should be asking “how the fuck did we end up with immigrants that don’t speak English”?

And make sure we have the mechanisms in place to keep out non-English speakers and especially any people whose values include killing women that don’t do as they’re told.

Then this goes back to the debate about what standard of langauge we expect people coming into this country to have.

Why can’t we produce statements of ‘integration and compliance with British law’ and force any immigrant wishing to live here to sign it.

Make it clear that this type of crime will result in severe penalties and (if the perpetrator is a foreign or dual national) the compulsory deportation of everyone involved.

That would get the message across.

On “The Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation” however, I’m more ambivalent.

Do Iranian and Kurdish women really have needs that can’t be met by a general ‘ethnic’ women’s rights network?

We need less ‘ghettoisation’ not more.

And if the language-barrier is an issue, unless the women concerned are genuine asylum seekers, then surely we should be asking “how the fuck did we end up with immigrants that don’t speak English”?

And make sure we have the mechanisms in place to keep out non-English speakers and especially any people whose values include killing women that don’t do as they’re told.