Khadija Patel from Bolton was recently awarded the British Citizen Award for her work promoting the emancipation of young girls.

The fact that she wore a niqab during the ceremony at Westminster Palace has sparked debate on social media.

The news was first shared by Lancashire FA on X and has since been reported by, among others, the Muslim websites IlmFeed and 5Pillars, as well as the American website HotAir. Patel is one of 28 recipients of the award in 2026, which is described as “The People’s Honours” and is presented in recognition of “outstanding courage, selflessness and sustained community service”.

We're delighted to announce that one of our incredible volunteers at KRIMMZ Youth Club in Bolton, Khadija Patel, was this week awarded with the British Citizen Award!

She received the award at the Palace of Westminster in recognition of her work empowering young women. 👏🎉 pic.twitter.com/0M0wQNVMnX

— Lancashire FA (@LancashireFA) July 24, 2026

Patel is the founder of KRIMMZ Girls Youth Club in Bolton, which she established in 2009. The club now has more than 360 members and offers activities including swimming, football, netball, skiing, yoga, cricket, archery, and squash for girls and women. According to the club’s own annual report, it reached more than 16,000 people and delivered more than 950 sessions in Bolton during 2025.

Patel has previously received several other awards for her work, including the BBC’s “Unsung Hero” award for North West England in 2025, Bolton’s Civic Medal the same year, and The King’s Award for Voluntary Service—the highest honour for voluntary organisations in the United Kingdom.

“This award is not just for me. It represents every volunteer, young person, woman, family, and community member who has supported KRIMMZ Girls Youth Club,” Patel said after receiving the award, according to IlmFeed.

However, the image of Patel wearing a niqab at the award ceremony in Westminster Palace has been widely shared on X, where several users have questioned the combination of the garment and the award’s stated purpose of promoting women’s emancipation. One X user wrote that the news “can’t be real”, in a post that, according to HotAir, was viewed several hundred thousand times.

Commentator David Strom writes in an article on HotAir that the award is an example of how the British authorities “go to absurd lengths to pretend Muslims are just like everybody else”, and questions why a woman veiled in accordance with what he describes as “extremist” interpretations of Islam is being honoured for promoting women’s emancipation.

Neither Lancashire FA, KRIMMZ, nor Patel herself has so far commented on the reactions on social media.