David Cameron urged to ban 'discriminatory' sharia courts from hearing divorce cases

Pressure: David Cameron
Reuters
By Martin Bentham10 December 2015
WEST END FINAL

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David Cameron was today urged to ban “discriminatory’ sharia courts from hearing divorce and other family cases as women’s rights groups warned of growing oppression by “fundamentalist forces” in Britain.

The campaigners said that action was needed because “unaccountable and arbitrary” religious courts were treating large of Muslim women as second class citizens.

They added that women were being exposed to unfair treatment, cruelty and sometimes danger as a result and “dragged into living out a fundamentalist vision of Islam” that was contrary to equality.

The groups, who were today presenting a petition at 10 Downing Street setting out their demands for reform, said the Prime Minister should respond by ensuring the “separation of religion and law” and by holding an inquiry into the discriminatory nature of Sharia and other religious courts.

Announcing their call today, the campaigners, who include British Muslims for Secular Democracy, Southall Black Sisters, and the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation, said that Sharia courts and other “parallel legal systems” were denying “vulnerable women and children access to equality and human rights.”

Diana Nammi, from the Iranian & Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation, said: “Religious ‘courts’ represent a major barrier to women’s rights. Not only do they deny women justice, they also distance women from the mainstream court system and safety measures, such as civil protection orders, which can have dire consequences.”

Gita Sahgal, of the Centre for Secular Space, added: “Sharia councils drag women into living out a fundamentalist vision of Islam. All parallel legal systems are discriminatory and undermine women’s rights under the law. It is time that they are dealt with.”

Maryam Namazie, from One Law for All, added: “By allowing religious courts to operate, we are saying that Muslim or Jewish women do not have the same rights as others in this country. This is unacceptable.”

Home Secretary Theresa May has already promised a review of sharia courts to determine whether their practices are consistent with British values.

At the moment, marriages and divorces carried out by sharia courts are not legally valid in this country unless another ceremony is conducted under British legislation.

Critics complain, however, that rulings are accepted and enforced with some Muslim communities, meaning that the courts have greater power than their legal status suggests. Sharia courts also arbitrate disputes.

Supporters say that they provide a quicker and way of resolving problems than the mainstream legal system and help to reduce the burden on the courts.

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