The event is hosted by several organisations and activists to debate and express their concerns about the increasing state recognition and promotion of religious-based arbitration and mediation forums such as Sharia councils in the UK. These councils operate as parallel legal systems in which women are treated unfairly, including when seeking divorce or custody over children.
The seminar will examine the range of injustices faced by women who engage with all forms of religious arbitration forums and sets out the reasons behind a growing campaign to end state legitimisation of legal pluralism in the UK.
On 7 November 2016
At 7-9 pm Please allow time for security checks
Where Committee Room 12, House of Commons, Westminster, London SW1A 0AA
This event will be chaired by Raife Aytek, Director of the Centre for Kurdish Progress.
Speakers:
Maryam Namazie, ‘Sharia Councils and the transnational Islamist links’
Dr. Savin Bapir-Tardy, ‘Why we need to understand ‘Sharia courts as a form of violence against women and girls’
Houzan Mahmoud, ‘Muslim women between “choice” and “agency”’
Gina Khan, ‘Sharia courts: A personal testimony’
Pragna Patel, Religious fundamentalism and the law: Facilitating access to justice?’
Gita Sahgal, ‘Can parallel courts be regulated?’
This event will be hosted by Joan Ryan MP for Enfield North.
To RSVP, please email Houzan Mahmoud at [email protected] & Kurdish Progress at [email protected]
Southall Black Sisters is working on the campaign against religious laws in partnership with a number of organisations including One Law for ALL, IKWRO and the Centre for Secular Space.
We have boycotted the government initiated inquiry into Sharia Councils for reasons that we have set out in our Open letter to the Home Secretary but we have however, submitted evidence to the Home Affairs Committee on Sharia Councils.
See here:
Southall Black Sisters
One Law for All
IKWRO
British Muslims for Secular Democracy
Yasmin Rehman
The seminar is co-hosted by the following organisations:
Kurdish Progress Organisation
Culture Project
One Law for All
Centre for Secular Space
Southall Black Sisters
Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation
British Muslims for Secular Democracy
