Australia's first Muslim woman to sit in federal parliament has revealed her ex-husband used Islam to stop her getting a divorce.

Anne Aly, the Labor member for the Perth seat of Cowan, said her husband abused her during the 1990s and refused to accept her request for divorce by citing Sharia law.

'I remained married to a man that was being abusive in an abusive relationship for longer than I should have,' she said.

Australia's first Muslim woman to sit in federal parliament (pictured) has revealed her ex-husband used Islam to stop her getting a divorce

'When I did finally get the courage to divorce my husband, as soon as I did start talking about divorce he suddenly found a use for religion and brought up that I couldn't get a civil divorce from him, that I would need to get a Sharia divorce.'

Dr Aly, 51, told the ABC's The Drum program it took her five years to secure a civil divorce.

The Egyptian-born mother-of-two met her husband in Egypt after finishing high school. The pair were living in Perth when he allegedly abused her.

Dr Aly, a former counter-terrorism academic, was commenting on an ABC investigation which found Islamic imams are often unsympathetic to Muslim women caught in violent marriages.

'We need to start listening to the real, lived experiences of women who are forced to stay married to men who are abusive towards them because they cannot have access to a divorce,' she said.

Anne Aly (pictured), Labor MP for Cowan in Western Australia, said her husband abused her during the 1990s and refused to accept her request for a divorce

The Labor backbencher said Islamic imams were too focused on keeping marriages together, even in cases of domestic violence.

'I've had one imam brag to me that he has a 97 per cent success rate at keeping relationships together, regardless of whether they're happy marriages or abusive marriages,' Dr Aly said.

Dr Aly previously told MPs that she had to raise her children with just $400 a fortnight after leaving her violent husband aged 25.

'I haven't forgotten what it's like to stand at the shopping centre counter and return half your shopping because you simply can't afford it that week,' Ms Aly said in parliament in March last year.

'I haven't forgotten what it's like to delve through my purse and pick up coins just to be able to afford essentials like milk and bread.'

