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British Judge Wants Courts To Aid Muslim Women In Obtaining Religious Divorce

By Howard M. Friedman

Britain's National Secular Society reported last week that England?s first female Appeal Court judge and former head of the Family Division, Baroness Butler-Sloss, has urged a change to help Muslim women obtain religious divorces from their husbands. In a debate at London's Temple Church, she said that judges should not grant a civil divorce to a Muslim couple unless the couple has already divorced religiously. Under Islamic law, normally it is the husband who can issue a talaq (divorce). If a woman asks a shariah council to dissolve her marriage, she loses some of her financial rights. Britain's Divorce (Religious Marriages) Act 2002 already deals with a similar problem in Jewish divorces by allowing a wife to prevent a final civil divorce decree from being issued until the husband grants the wife a religious divorce.

The Act may already permit judges to apply it to Muslims as well. By its terms, it applies to parties who "were married in accordance with-- (i) the usages of the Jews, or (ii) any other prescribed religious usages; and (b) must co-operate if the marriage is to be dissolved in accordance with those usages."

Full post as published by Religion Clause on January 12, 2009 (boomark / email).