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

Baroness Cox proposes private member’s Bill which would make it illegal for them to act as legal courts

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Britain risks having an alternative legal system which discriminates against women unless the Government takes action against sharia councils, Baroness Cox has warned. The cross-bench peer has proposed a private member’s Bill which would make it illegal for them to act as legal courts.

“I think there is a real problem in the way that they are currently operating, in that it is a kind of parallel legal system,” she said, responding to the report by The Independent on the discriminatory treatment of women by sharia councils.

“There are aspects of sharia law and the way the sharia courts operate which are fundamentally incompatible with the laws, values, principles and policies of this country and which represent a threat to the fundamental principle of one law for all,” she added.

The Arbitration and Mediation Services (Equality) Bill passed its second reading in the House of Lords in October. “It has support from all parts of the House and I don’t think the Government can ignore that,” said Baroness Cox. Amid concerns that some Muslim women are unaware of their legal rights to leave violent husbands and are pressured into attending reconciliation sessions, the Home Office has commissioned an independent review of sharia councils. “They must make sure it’s a thorough investigation and that they hear from the women that have suffered, not just the men who are often self-appointed community leaders,” she commented.