We should take pride in how far women’s rights in the UK have progressed in the past century.

Within those 100 years, we saw women gaining the right to vote in general elections; the right to sit in the House of Lords; the right to own and control property when married; the right not to be discriminated against in work, education and training; and the right not to be raped by their husbands (incredibly, marital rape was only criminalised in 1995).

The UK is now one of the best countries to be a woman. We are ranked fourth most equal in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2025.

Sadly, this progress cannot be taken for granted. Human rights need constant defending, and women’s rights are no exception. Threats to women’s equality are emerging from several fronts, not least the rise in online ‘incel’ culture.

But as our new report Mission and Misogyny reveals, one of these threats is coming from a truly shocking place: religious charities registered in the UK.

Many people expect charity to benefit society, and to uphold values such as benevolence, kindness and equal respect for the dignity of all human beings, regardless of sex.

But our research found too many religious charities doing the exact opposite.

The case studies in our report include Horemow Europe, a Warwickshire-based Christian charity. Its pastor published a series of blogs saying women wear trousers “because of the spirit of whoredom” and blaming an “increase in rape” on how women dress.

Then there’s Moray Coast Baptist Church, whose pastor said in a sermon the “primary function” of a woman is “to be married, to have children, and to tend to household affairs – the cooking, the cleaning, the washing up”. He also said he wouldn’t want his wife to “look sensual” around other people.

Perhaps worst of all, there’s An-Noor Masjid, a mosque in Birmingham which hosted a preacher who said a man can hit his wife if she refuses to have sex with him (pictured).

We reported all three cases to the charity regulators, but their responses were at best weak, and at worst, non-existent. The Charity Commission for England and Wales issued Horemow Europe and An-Noor Masjid ‘advice and guidance’ and left it there. The preacher who gave the sermon at the latter went on to preach at another charity previously warned over misogyny.

The Scottish charity regulator refused to take any action at all on Moray Coast Baptist because “the views expressed are likely to be held by virtue of a manifestation of a religious belief.”

This last case illustrates how ‘the advancement of religion’ charitable purpose is enabling charities to promote misogyny. Their ideology derives from their interpretation of religious scripture – which the charities are indeed set up to advance.

This is not acceptable. Religion can never be an excuse to undermine the equality or safety of women, and misogyny should have no place in charities.

There are many other cases in our report. They include charities which have published or signposted material saying a woman must not leave her house without covering her entire body apart from her eyes; women who submit to their husband’s leadership are “easier to love”; and illegal “female circumcision” (FGM) has “medical benefits”.

Our report also looks at the issue of religious ‘courts’ in Islamic and Jewish communities, which are inherently patriarchal, discriminate against women and have sometimes enabled domestic or sexual abuse. Many, if not most, of such courts operate as registered charities. Again, any institution which treats women as second class citizens has no business in the charity sector.

The failure of the regulators and Government to tackle misogyny in charities requires urgent attention. We cannot continue to let religious organisations promote discrimination and violence against women and girls while they enjoy the tax benefits and public trust which registered charitable status unlocks.

As long as we let these charities continue to preach misogyny, the UK risks letting its progress on women’s rights slide backwards. This is especially true for women and girls in minority communities, who are often already marginalised.

We cannot end misogyny without ending it in the charity sector. And to do this, we must not only empower the charity regulators to put a stop on charities which threaten women’s rights. We must also re-examine our charity system at its roots and make the necessary reforms to ensure no organisation that undermines women’s equality and dignity can ever register as a charity, religious or not.

Watch clips from some of the charities featured in the report: