Muslim men in some communities are having up to 20 children each
because of polygomy and the rise of “religiously sanctioned gender
discrimination” under Sharia Law, peers have warned.
Baroness Cox, a cross-bench peer, highlighted a series of “shocking”
examples of the impact of Sharia law on Muslim women in Britain as she
called for them to be given greater protection under equality
legislation.
She disclosed one case in which a 63-year-old man tried to divorce
his 23-year-old wife and arrange her marriage to a Pakistani man who
needed a visa.
He asked a gynaecologist to “repair the hymen” of his wife so she
could remarry, and stood to make £10,000 “for effecting the
arrangement”.
“Such shocking cases surely cannot be allowed to continue,” she said.
“The rights of Muslim women and the rule of law in our land must be
upheld.”
In other examples, Baroness Cox revealed that Muslim men divorce
their wives by simply saying or writing “I divorce you” three times.
She added: “My Muslim friends tell me that in some communities with
high polygamy and divorce rates, men may have up to 20 children each.
Clearly, youngsters growing up in dysfunctional families may be vulnerable to extremism and demography may affect democracy.”
She put forward proposals to close a loophole in the Equality Act
which she said enables Sharia courts to practice sexual discrimination.
Baroness Deech, another cross-bench peer, supported the bill and
said: “We must not tolerate the sweeping of violence against women or
children under the carpet by any religion in the name of faith.”
[91% out of 3644 voters to a survey by the Telegraph said they are worried about the impact of Sharia law on Britain]
Labour’s Baroness Donaghy, a former chair of the arbitration service
Acas, also backing the Bill, said it was not that long ago that women
were unequal before the law.
“We cannot afford to go backwards and tolerate a situation where any woman is living in fear and isolation.
“More needs to be done. This is not confined to Sharia law or Muslim
religion. These parallel laws which discriminate against women have
existed and may still exist in other religions.”
Lord Green of Deddington, chairman of MigrationWatch, said Britain
was entirely different to Muslim countries, adding: “Those who come must
accept that.”
The independent crossbench peer said: “We must be prepared to insist that there can be only one law.
“We must get away from what I call the Rotherham complex where the
authorities were so afraid of offending a minority community that they
turned a blind eye to the appalling abuse of young mainly British
girls.”
Lord Faulks, the justice minister, highlighted a government review of
the operation of Sharia Councils but said that new laws were not needed
as there are already protections in common law and existing
legislation.
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