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Women’s rights, secular and ex-Muslim campaigners will gather in central London on Saturday 26 September for a one-day conference examining freedom of conscience, women’s resistance to religious authoritarianism, and recovery from religious trauma.

The conference, organised by Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and sponsored by the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the National Secular Society (NSS), will bring together speakers to address the urgent challenges facing those who leave religion, challenge blasphemy laws, and defend freedom of expression.

Contributors include: Ana González, Partner and Head of Immigration Law, Willson’s Solicitors; Ghizlane Mamouni, Ibtissame Betty Lachgar’s Lawyer; Ex-Muslim artist Haram Doodles; CEMB Spokesperson Maryam Namazie; NSS Head of Campaigns Megan Manson; Southall Black Sisters Chair Rahila Gupta; Counselling Psychologist Savin Bapir-Tardy; Shelley Segal, Singer/Songwriter; Siham Lachgar, Sister of Ibtissame Betty Lachgar and Women’s Rights Campaigner Yasmin Rehman.

The event will mark the official launch of Savin Bapir-Tardy’s new book, Leaving to Live: A Psychoeducational Guide for Ex-Muslims. This timely publication is the culmination of years of therapeutic work, research, and support group sessions led by the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB). Drawing on established therapeutic approaches, Savin has adapted them to address the unique psychological, social, and emotional realities faced by those leaving Islam.

Drawing on themes raised in the book, conference discussions will examine religious trauma, social exclusion, identity reconstruction after leaving religion, and the vital role of support networks in helping former believers rebuild their lives. The event will also explore the wider significance of the ex-Muslim movement as a struggle for freedom of conscience, self-determination, and the right to leave inherited beliefs and identities without fear, coercion, or punishment.

A particular focus of the conference will be women’s blasphemy, apostasy, and transgression as acts of resistance against systems that seek to regulate belief, speech, sexuality, and personal autonomy. Discussions will examine why women who challenge religious authority often face the harshest forms of social and political control, and how their acts of defiance can become catalysts for wider struggles for equality, secularism, and freedom.

The conference will honour Moroccan feminist activist Ibtissame Betty Lachgar, whose courageous challenges to religious taboos and restrictions on freedom of conscience have made her a leading voice for women’s rights, secularism, and freedom of expression. Her work exemplifies the transformative role that women’s acts of blasphemy and dissent can play in advancing social change.

The conference comes at a time when attacks on freedom of expression, growing religious authoritarianism, and backlash against women’s rights are placing renewed pressure on freedom of conscience and dissent. It will provide a platform to discuss the importance of defending secularism, protecting those who leave religion, confronting religious trauma, and recognising women’s blasphemy and transgression as essential components of struggles for equality and human freedom.

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