Calls to strengthen Equality Act at landmark event in Parliament

Dr Suriyah Bi, a lecturer in Islam in Britain at SOAS and founder of the Equality Act Review held a landmark event at the House of Commons to discuss the proposals to strengthen the legislation of the Equality Act 2010.

Joined by Tony Vaughan KC MP (who is a SOAS alumnus), Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, Cllr Zainab Asunramu, and Dr Idil Akinci from the University of Edinburgh – the event included panel discussions that addressed intersectional discrimination and urgently needed assessments of migrant identity and discrimination in the UK.

We aim to ensure the Equality Act remains not just a legal safeguard, but a living framework for belonging and cohesion in Britain.

Speaking on the importance of the event, Dr Bi said: 

“At a time when populism and far-right rhetoric are reshaping public debate, the principles of equality and justice have never been more vital, or more vulnerable. Our work at the Equality Act Review confronts this moment directly, asking how law can respond to new forms of exclusion, racialisation, and socioeconomic inequality. By reimagining equality through a decolonial and socially grounded lens, we aim to ensure the Equality Act remains not just a legal safeguard, but a living framework for belonging and cohesion in Britain.”

The Equality Act Review works to promote structural changes to the Equality Act 2010, with aims to update and recognise a variety of characteristics, including homelessness, low socio-economic status and/or poverty, while also improving legislation around discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership (workplace only), pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

The SOAS Department of Religions and Philosophies offers unique learning and research environment for a truly inter-cultural approach to systems of belief and thought in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.