The National Secular Society has backed calls for the government to withdraw divorce guidance which encourages women from minority religious backgrounds to turn to religious 'courts'.
NSS chief executive Stephen Evans has joined campaigners in signing an open letter to the Ministry of Justice which has been published on the website of Southall Black Sisters (SBS). SBS campaigns for the rights of women in minority communities.
The letter calls for "an urgent review into sharia and civil marriage and divorce laws and to guarantee access to justice for all".
.... "The state should treat marriage and divorce as civil processes, governed by what is best for the individuals involved and society as a whole. But the government's guidance leaves women at the mercy of religious authorities who do not share these priorities, endangering their rights.
"The best way to ensure marriage and divorce are handled fairly is to recognise the supremacy of civil law over the religious and secularise the marriage laws."
The signatories call on the government to withdraw this guidance. [National Secular Society] Read more
