Press

The worrying rise of Sharia marriages: Women in unregistered, religious-only marriages have no legal rights or protections

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Baroness Cox sends out a Press Release commending the Law Commission’s recommendations in their Celebrating Marriage: A New Weddings Law Report. The Press Release highlights the recommendations’ potential for pushing gender equality forwards in this country, and urges the Government commit to acting on the proposals.

Celebrating Marriage: A New Weddings Law Report

All religious marriages must be registered to protect women from abuse and discrimination, report warns

The Independent

Sunday Express

Equality call for brides of religion

BBC News

Appeal Court rules Islamic marriages invalid in UK

The Independent

British women ‘being forced into polygamous relationships’ because law lets them down, campaigners say

The Times (£)

Ministers challenge ruling that English law recognises Islamic marriage.

The Independent

Council of Europe calls for Muslim couples in UK to legally have to register marriage before or during Islamic ceremony

Law Gazette

UK named in Council of Europe sharia warning

Sky News Australia

Baroness Cox describes an experience with a woman married under Sharia law who was divorced by her husband

Herald Sun Australia

Push to protect Muslim women in UK from Sharia law

The Guardian

The Guardian view on Muslim marriage: One way forward

The Independent

Muslim women ‘given hope’ by High Court ruling that Sharia marriages can be covered by English law

The Times (£)

Said David orders research into ethnic origin of sex grooming gangs

The Times (£)

Editorial: True Champion: Rotherham’s MP deserves support speaking out on sexual abuse

Daily Mail

Inside Britain’s secretive Sharia courts

“I and many colleagues in the House of Lords welcome the Government’s Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper. We are cautiously optimistic because of the Government’s positive response to two of the recommendations of the recent Sharia law review.

“First, the requirement that civil marriages are conducted before or at the same time as religious ceremonies. This is compatible with the aims of my Private Member’s Bill, which has the strong support of many Muslim women. The Government’s proposals and my Bill would provide protection from gender discrimination inherent in many applications of Sharia law, such as asymmetrical access to divorce and polygamy, which are causing many women totally unacceptable suffering in our country today.

“Second, we welcome the Government’s proposed support for awareness campaigns in partnership with voluntary sector organisations. This is compatible with my previous Private Member’s Bill, which would place a duty on public bodies to ensure that women in polygamous households or those who have had only a religious marriage are made aware of their legal rights.

“We have received widespread support from Muslim women’s organisations, such as the Muslim Women’s Advisory Council (MWAC) and British Arabs Supporting Universal Women’s Rights (BASIRA), as well as internationally-renowned Muslim women academics, including the Canadian scholar Raheel Raza, who describes these initiatives as ‘a blessing to help women to achieve their rights’.

“We therefore strongly urge the Government to proceed as quickly as possible to alleviate the tragic predicament of many Muslim women whose suffering would make the Suffragettes turn in their graves.”

Baroness Cox Press Release, Response to the Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper

The Times (£)

No. 10 to curb Sharia in push for integration

Daily Mail

Archbishop of Canterbury says Islamic rules are incompatible with Britain’s laws

The Times (£)

Why Muslim marriages must be legally binding

The Guardian

Register Islamic marriages under civil law, sharia review says

The Independent

Sharia marriages should be registered under UK law, says independent review

The Guardian

British law must recognise Muslim marriage ceremonies

Daily Telegraph

The truth about Britain’s ‘unmarried’ Muslim wives – and why it’s your problem, too

The Independent

No one talks about the fact that in sharia courts, British Muslim women have fewer rights than women in Islamic countries

The Guardian

Most women in UK who have Islamic wedding miss out on legal rights

Daily Mail

Muslim brides are being left debt-stricken and homeless after being abandoned by their husbands – because their Sharia ceremonies are not recognised under UK law

Sunday Times (£)

Six in 10 Muslim wives not legally married

Henry Jackson Society

Foreign policy think-tank the Henry Jackson Society released its new report on the link between modern slavery and terrorism.

BBC News

The women who sleep with a stranger to save their marriage

BBC London News

Sharia councils may ‘pressurise’ women to stay in abusive relationships

Asian Image

‘I was secretly married to an Islamic peer’. Woman says many like her are suffering in silence at hands of holy men

The Guardian

Inside Britain’s Sharia councils: hardline and anti-women – or a dignified way to divorce?

National Secular Society

High Court rules against sharia-only divorce claim

The Sun

Lord Carey promises ‘rescue’ by Parliament for Muslim women abandoned because of ‘political correctness’

Mail Online

Shame on Sharia: Women beaten, robbed and raped. A chilling expose of how British females are being sentenced to lives of misery by Muslim courts

National Secular Society

Sharia reviews and the case for non-accommodation and non-regulation

BBC Radio 4

Today Programme: Sharia councils and gender discrimination

BBC News

Muslim women complain about Sharia inquiries

The Independent

More Muslim women ‘will be stuck in abusive marriages’ if Britain shuts down Sharia councils

Belfast Telegraph

More Muslim women ‘will be stuck in abusive marriages’ if Britain shuts down Sharia councils

Sunday Times

Top sharia court ‘is protecting wife-beater suspects’

Mail Online

British sharia court ‘protects wife-beating suspects by sabotaging criminal proceedings against them’ women’s rights group claims

Mail Online

Equalities minister voices Government concerns about Sharia courts’ powers

The Guardian

UK courts should be able to issue Islamic divorces, sharia expert says

The Muslim News

Government targets Sharia law

BBC Radio 4

Beyond Belief: Sharia Councils

BBC News

Muslim women most disadvantaged, say MPs

The Times (£)

Baroness Cox letter: fears over Sharia

The Times (£)

Melanie Phillips: May needs to wake up to the reality of Sharia

ITV News

Theresa May: I’m concerned about Sharia law in the UK

BBC News

The UK women seeking divorce through Sharia councils

BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire Programme

Sharia councils in the UK

The Guardian

Polygamy is not a cultural conceit. It is an affront to women

The Independent

Sharia courts review branded a ‘whitewash’ over appointment ‘bias’ concerns

OpenDemocracy.net

Open Letter to Theresa May: Whitewashing Sharia councils in the UK?

East Grinstead Courier  

MP welcomes review into application of Sharia law

The Independent

Theresa May’s inquiry into sharia courts is long overdue

BBC News

Sharia law review to focus on fairness to UK women – Theresa May

The Times (£)

Comment: Parallel Lives

BBC’s Daily Politics

Jess Phillips MP, Baroness Cox, and the Halo Project’s Yasmin Khan discuss gender discrimination in Sharia courts

The Herald

One in four British Muslims back Sharia law

Daily Mail

Nation within a nation developing says former equalities watchdog

BBC’s Daily Politics

Baroness Cox’s Soapbox: A ‘labyrinth of inaction’ over suffering of women

Sunday Telegraph

Oppressed women: Cross-party letter in support of Baroness Cox’s Bill

Mail Online

Amanda Platell: Westminster Wars

Daily Express

Bill to be put before MPs today

Daily Express

Editorial: These sharia courts have no place in our country

Reuters TV

Roma’s story

Sunday Times (£)

UK’s sharia courts ‘ignore marital rape’

Conservative Home

Benedict Rogers: Why the Commons should support this Bill to liberate Muslim women

IB Times

Baroness Cox – ‘The Suffragettes will be turning in their graves’

IB Times

Baroness Cox says move to restrict Islamic courts ‘has MPs’ support’

BBC News

Muslim women’s segregation in UK communities must end – Cameron

The Times (£)

David Cameron: We won’t let women be second-class citizens

The Independent

UK Jewish Orthodox councils ‘institutionalising marital captivity and upholding discriminatory religious laws’

Daily Mail

Law chiefs give Crown Court judge permission to rule at Sharia court set up by hardline cleric who led demonstration against Charlie Hebdo

Daily Telegraph

Judge allowed to sit on sharia court set up by Hebdo protest cleric

The Times (£)

Editorial: Courting Sharia: The existence of parallel justice systems in Britain is unacceptable. Everyone must be subject to the same laws before the same courts

Eastbourne Herald

Wealden MP helps secure Home Office review of Sharia courts in UK

Daily Mail

Probe into Islamic courts dispensing ‘justice’ will start within weeks amid fears over spread of Sharia law in the UK

The Times (£)

May orders independent review into Sharia courts

Daily Express

Up to 85 Sharia courts doling out ‘justice’ under the radar of English law

Daily Mail

Inside Britain’s Sharia courts: There are now 85 Islamic courts dispensing ‘justice’ across the UK

Evening Standard

‘In Sharia court women are seen as having half the worth of men’

Conservative Home

Gerald Howarth: May should appoint Baroness Cox to lead the review into sharia courts

Metro

The truth behind Sharia Courts in Britain and are they actually helping Muslim women?

Daily Mail

Sarah Vine: Why won’t the sisters speak out over Sharia courts?

The Independent

Sharia councils: UK risks having an ‘alternative legal system which discriminates against women’

BBC News

Police ‘not properly prepared’ to tackle honour-based crime

The Independent

Editorial: Sharia courts sanction the subjugation of women – the Government can’t hide behind multiculturalism

Daily Mail

Sharia courts in Britain ‘lock women into marital captivity and do not officially report domestic violence’ says academic

Daily Mirror

Sharia Law is alive and well in the UK as investigation uncovers shocking details

The Sun

The UK courts where abuse victims are laughed at and our laws don’t matter: Sharia is alive and well in Britain

The Independent

Sharia courts in Britain lock women into ‘marital captivity’, study says

The Independent

Sharia in the UK: The courts in the shadow of British law offering rough justice for Muslim women

BBC – Inside Out East Midlands

Behind the scenes of Sharia justice in the Midlands

Daily Express

Sharia law is blight on UK

Mail online

Muslim men in some British communities are ‘having up to 20 children each’ because Sharia law allows them to have many wives

The Times (£)

Sharia brides ‘need extra legal rights’

Telegraph online

Muslim men having ’20 children each’ because of polygamy, peer claims

BBC’s Daily Politics

Crossbench Peer Baroness Cox and Islamic family law specialist Aina Khan discuss the operation of Sharia courts

Express Online

Ministers order probe into ‘unacceptable’ Sharia law courts operating in Britain

Daily Telegraph

Rise in Sharia marriages prompts polygamy fears

The Times (£)

Young Muslims fuel huge rise in Sharia marriage

“I was willing to share the launch of Sharia Watch in a committee room in the House of Lords because of my well-known commitment to the fundamental principle of freedom of speech, concern for religiously-sanctioned gender discrimination and the threats to the essential foundation of democracy of one law for all. I now have no continuing connection or involvement with Sharia Watch.”

Baroness Cox’s position regarding Sharia Watch

Conservative Home

Baroness Cox: How discriminatory Sharia law principles affect Muslim women in Britain today

BBC News

Divorce warning over religious and Sharia marriages

Telegraph Online

Mass polygamy in UK Muslim community – claim

Daily Telegraph

The feisty baroness defending ‘voiceless’ Muslim women

The Times (£)

Law: Sharia wills: do they create a parallel system of legal rights?

Sunday Telegraph

Islamic law is adopted by British legal chiefs

Sunday Telegraph

Bishop fears sharia bonds pave way for more Islamic law

Sunday Times (£)

Happy ever after with a part-time husband: the rise of polygamy in Muslim Britain

BBC News

Are Sharia councils failing vulnerable women?

Daily Mail

From a distinguished peer fighting to protect women… Sharia marriages for girls of 12 and the religious courts subverting British law

The Independent

Baroness Cox: ‘If we ignore wrongs, we condone them’

The Guardian

Bill limiting sharia law is motivated by ‘concern for Muslim women’