Numerous British Pakistanis have written letters to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, expressing their dissatisfaction with UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s “racist, unacceptable, and inflammatory” remarks about Pakistani men.
Several healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and founders signed several letters addressed to Mr Sunak, requesting an apology from Ms Braverman.
Ms Braverman sparked outrage last week after repeatedly speaking about “the predominance of British-Pakistani males who hold cultural values totally at odds with British values.”
In an interview with Sky News, she stated that British Pakistani men “see women in a demeaned, illegitimate way and pursue an outdated and frankly heinous approach to the way we behave.”
The program host also mentioned the home secretary’s comments that “ British Pakistani grooming gangs are targeting vulnerable white girls ” and that people have been “turning a blind eye out of political correctness.”
Her remarks received severe backlash on social media, where both Pakistani and non-Pakistani commentators called her out for discrimination and politicizing a serious issue.
A letter signed by medical professionals stated, “It is unacceptable for the home secretary to use inflammatory and divisive rhetoric that is sensationalist and contradicts her department’s evidence. Critically, it enables these heinous crimes to continue by focusing on political exhibitionism instead of implementing evidence-based impactful action that requires a whole system response rather than singling out one particular ethnic group.”
The signatories of the letter included medical professionals registered with various associations. The British Pakistan Foundation also wrote an open letter to the prime minister expressing their disappointment with the home secretary’s recent comments and his failure to speak out against them.
In addition, Muslim associations criticized Ms Braverman in a letter to 10 Downing Street, stating, “These remarks and others were made by the home secretary without caveats and were not limited to those convicted of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) but instead stereotyped and targeted an entire community,” and drawing attention to hate crimes against Muslims in the past.