Charlotte Rachael Proudman, a barrister with a commitment to human rights, social justice and equality, writes last April a very very interesting artice in the UK’s Independent that is well worth reading by all those who wish to gain an insight into what Sharia is really all about. In the past when I have openly criticised it, a rather common rebuttal is that it is simply a mediation service within the context of a specific belief community … alas, if only it was just that and nothing more, I’d have no problem with it, but tragically it is no such thing.

Ms Proudman illustrates the problem very well, not with abstractions, but with living breathing humans suffering due to the insanity being imposed upon them by these religious lunatics …

Today I received another telephone call from a young Muslim woman, Nasrin, who pleaded with me to help her obtain an Islamic divorce. After fleeing a forced marriage characterised by rape and physical violence, Nasrin applied for an Islamic divorce from a Sharia council; that was almost 10 years ago now. Despite countless emails, letters and telephone calls to the Sharia council as well as joint mediation and reconciliation meetings, the Sharia council refuse to provide Nasrin with an Islamic divorce. Why? Because of Nasrin’s sex. An Imam at the Sharia council told Nasrin that her gender prevents her from unilaterally divorcing her husband, instead the Imam told her to return to her husband, perform her wifely duties and maintain the abusive marriage that she was forced into.

These self-appointed religious bodies do not operate in accordance with basic human rights and pay no heed to equality legislation, in fact Ms Proudman nails it quite well …

Having observed Sharia law bodies ruling on legal disputes it is all too apparent that they operate within a misogynist and patriarchal framework which is incompatible with UK legislation … … Diana Nammi, founder of the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation explained that “Sharia law bodies are money-spinning businesses because they afford men more rights than women unlike UK law which is underpinned by a fundamental principle of ‘equality for all’. In most cases women do not receive any practical advice or assistance to help them exit abusive marriages, and instead face further discrimination perpetrated by Sharia ‘judges’”. According to Anne-Marie Hutchinson OBE, partner of Dawson Cornwell a leading family law solicitors firm, “women are forced to apply for Islamic divorces from Sharia law bodies to end their marriages unlike men who are in a position of power as they only have to pronounce talaq (divorce) three times to end their marriages”. However, this is not a quick process, it is time consuming and emotionally draining for many women including Nasrin who applied for an Islamic divorce almost 10 years ago.

Anne-Marie Waters, Spokesperson for One Law for All also commented on this – “the very process employed by Sharia law bodies is gender discriminatory, flawed and incompatible with UK legislation”. What can she mean? Well, did you know that women are requested to bring along two Muslim, male witnesses to corroborate their testimony. Who the heck is able to comply with this gender discriminatory requirement that is contrary to the Equality Act 2010. Not only are such requirements near impossible to adhere to, but they also reflect Sharia law bodies’ ideology that women are second class citizens.

Make no mistake, Sharia is not about justice, true mediation or equality, but rather is all about imposing crazy religious beliefs, and keeping them troubling females tucked safely in the kitchen and strictly under male dominance.

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