Baroness Flather
In a 50 minute debate in the House of Lords (Moses Room) on Thursday, 11 December 2014, Baroness Flather (at 2pm) asked:
‘what is the Governments assessment of the impact of Sharia law in the UK, particularly on women?’
Flather (a Hindu Humanist) said she was extremely concerned about what is happening to British Muslim women: when a Sharia will is made, a woman gets half of what a man gets; in schools, girls are being segregated from boys.
Sharia Councils make it very difficult for a woman to get a divorce. Two third of Muslim marriages are not registered under British law, so a British legal divorce is not possible. When they marry, many women don’t know that their husband already has three wives!
If a man brings a woman into Britain as his wife, it should be legally essential for him to register that woman as his wife: then charges of bigamy can be made and maintenance payed if they divorce.
Baroness Warsi
Baroness Warsi (Conservative Muslim) (at 2.10pm) drew a distinction between Sharia and Sharia law. Sharia has to do with diets and what to do at birth (circumcision) and death.
Warsi said all Muslim marriages (nikah) should be recognised under British Law – that would mean that Sharia Councils would not be necessary to arbitrate divorces, only English civil courts. If a man marries more than one woman he could be charged with bigamy.
‘We have one system of law in England and Wales; it is English law, and that is paramount’
Baroness Cox
Baroness Cox (at 2.16pm) said that sharia courts or councils don’t allow women equal access to divorce. Muslim women are often not aware of the implications of having a religious marriage without a registered civil marriage. This leaves them and their children without any rights in law if they are divorced. Their husband can take four wives without breaking the polygamy law. In the West Midlands two-thirds of Muslim women live in polygamous marriages.
Muslim men may have up to 20 children
Baroness King
Baroness King of Bow (at 2.26pm), a Jewish atheist, said that Sharia law is not part of our legal system:
Everyone in Britain must be equal before the law. Sharia law is not part of the British legal system, and there are absolutely no plans to make it a part of our legal system.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (at 2.36pm) spoke about the English rule of law:
Sharia law has no jurisdiction in the court systems of England and Wales – there is no parallel court system. Britain allows people to practise, profess, propagate and preach their faith with great freedom and liberty. Protecting religious identity should not be to the detriment of the rule of law.
Chris Street, President of Atheism UK
Atheism UK President, Chris Street said “All British marriages, including Muslim and Humanist marriages, should be recognised under British Law. This would allow a spouse and the children greater legal protection and make all polygamy illegal in Britain. I am pleased that government minister Lord Ahmad insisted that ‘Protecting religious identity is an important part of what defines our great nation, but not to the detriment of the rule of law.'”
Full text at Hansard and watch the whole debate on Parliamentary TV – from 2pm.
