Yes / Violence against women in politics is on the rise, threatening political achievements with respect to equality. Little research, however, has been conducted on the experiences of women from minority communities. This article, therefore, takes an intersectional approach to explore how gender, religion, and other categories of difference intersect when it comes to Muslim women’s experiences in the UK. Based on a longitudinal case study of Bradford West during the 2015, 2017, and 2019 general elections that combines participant observations, qualitative interviews, and a Twitter analysis, we argue that, in addition to the violence often experienced by women, Muslim women are also confronted with Islamophobic bias and abuse, as well as intersectional intimidation and harassment from within the Muslim community in their constituencies. Our case study approach, however, also reveals the existence of appreciation and support for Muslim women in politics that needs to be nurtured to counter abuse.

This paper aims to address the research gap concerning the impact of gendered political violence (GPV) on the political ambition of future political prospects and those seeking to become active within the political field. Utilizing the research question “How does the awareness of the impacts regarding gendered political violence affect social science students’ political ambitions?”, a quantitative survey experiment is conducted among Uppsala University students in Sweden. Contrary to the initial hypothesis (H1), exposure to the treatment condition on GPV impacts did not diminish political ambitions; instead, contrary effects were observed. Further findings suggested that women’s political ambitions might be more negatively affected compared to men’s, aligning with hypothesis H2 albeit without statistical significance. Surprisingly, men’s political ambitions appeared strengthened instead. Further robustness tests confirmed all these results to various extents. Serving as an initial exploration into this crucial subject, these results highlight the need for further investigation into GPV’s implications for political ambition and its gendered disparities, both in Sweden and abroad.