.... The review said nearly all those using sharia councils were women, and in the vast majority of cases, they were seeking an Islamic divorce. As a “significant number” of Muslim couples do not register their marriages under civil law, “some Muslim women have no option of obtaining a civil divorce”.
Muslim women’s groups have accused the councils of being discriminatory and regressive. Some councils pressure women to stay in abusive marriages and ignore their rights under British legal systems, they allege.
The report’s key recommendation is that Muslim couples should be legally required to civilly register their marriage before or at the same time as their Islamic ceremony.
This would ensure “a greater number of women will have the full protection afforded to them in family law and the right to a civil divorce, lessening the need to attend and simplifying the decision process of sharia councils”. [The Guardian] Read more
