Muslim wives legally invisible

[ShowMeTheHunny]

Perhaps this should be in the feminism chat, but I’ve just found out something shocking: 60% of British Muslim women are in Nikah only marriages.

Nikah is a religious marriage ceremony. Unlike Jewish or Christian marriages, there is no automatic civil registration.

This means that under British law a Muslim woman with a Nikah marriage is in fact not married at all. If the relationship ends (through separation, divorce, or death), she has: no right to spousal maintenance, no claim to property or pensions, no inheritance rights and no access to the protections of the UK Family Court.

This has been raised in parliament. This has been raised by judges. The 2018 government review found that many Muslim women believed their Nikah marriage had legal standing.

Anything done about it? Nope.

I wondered if this is covered in schools. There is a statutory relationships and sex education guidance that the DfE published which schools must follow. It does require teaching about marriage, but NOTHING in the statutory wording prompts schools to explain the difference between a religious-only ceremony and a civilly recognised marriage.

So, many/most of you might be thinking, ‘So what? It’s none of our business to interfere with others’ religious or cultural practices! Surely it’s the same situation in other countries?’

Nope. The following countries ensure, through legislation, that Islamic marriage ceremonies happen after or alongside civil registration:

France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Finland, Sweden….basically all the European countries….except Britain.

Anyway, anyone else shocked?

I had no idea but I can’t say I am shocked as such.

Religion aside I have known many women who don’t understand the legal protection marriage might bring versus being long term partners with children.

So overall education on what is a legal arrangement would be beneficial for a lot of people!

You’ll need to provide evidence of your 60% figure before I become shocked.

YANBU at all! This is something lots of muslim legal professionals have been campaigning about and trying to get the community to realise. Having said that women are given lots of rights by religious marriage, the problem lies with people not following through on them and then having no avenue to enforce it.

Not at all shocked as I already knew. I would say it is common knowledge. (I’m not a Muslim.)

It isn’t completely true about Christian marriages being automatically legal. A Catholic wedding needs a registrar - the priest may also be one but not necessarily. This is different to say CoE where all priests / vicars are authorised.

Agree more education is needed. But more education is needed generally about marriage. “Marriage is just a piece of paper” is really not true when the shit hits the fan.

I knew this. I am shocked the women entering into the marriages don't. I had a religious only ceremony ( Catholic) but the priest was an authorised person, we had given notice, we signed the legal papers immediately after the ceremony in the priests chambers with witnesses, and that's standard. Easiest thing in the world to do (and in my head that was the point at which we were actually married).

I think that any religious leader who conducts wedding ceremonies should have a statutory duty to inform the couple if the ceremony doesn't make them married under UK law.

For a few years in the early 90s, I managed the registration service for a local authority. Up till then, I had no idea that registrars could be called out to conduct "deathbed weddings", which happened when people with terminal illnesses didn't realise that they weren't actually legally married. The implications for the surviving spouse could be significant, eg no right to inherit the home or savings in the deceased partner's name, a surviving spouse pension etc.

The law may have changed in the last 30 years or so, but my friend's SIL inherited everything on his father's death. His father died intestate, his parents had married in a Polish church in the UK and the marriage had never been legally registered. Luckily, he's a decent guy, gave his mum the money and put the house into her name.

Not sure where you got this information from. In Scotland an Islamic marriage counts as legal marriage - a seperate civil marriage is not required. I have many Muslim friends and this is the case for them.

Jewish marriages aren’t automatically binding in the UK. We have to have a civil marriage as well as a chuppah (ceremony under a canopy) and a ketubah (certificate). I’m not aware of there being a problem with people only having the halachic (Jewish legal) wedding and not civil marriage.

This isn't always correct although some Iman's are registered as official registrants and you can do both together, for example as in the central mosque in Edinburgh.
https://edmosque.org/marriage-service/]

OP - I'm not sure that compelling someone to have an official registration afterwards is the way to go through. Some couples I know use a Nikkah as a way of be allowed to live together before getting legally married.

The Home Office actually commissioned a big review in 2018 into sharia law in the UK, led by Professor Mona Siddiqui, and that review said it was estimated that around sixty per cent of Muslim women married here hadn’t also done the civil registration.
The review referenced other surveys, including a Channel 4/ICM poll from 2017 which found nearly two in three Muslim women in Britain were in exactly that position. It’s been quoted in Parliament loads of times too – Baroness Cox often brings it up in the Lords when she talks about women being left with no rights after separation or widowhood.

Hindu marriages are also not automatically registered. I had one and then a separate registration.Unless things have changed since?

I agree with you on education, but I also think girls should be educated that there is no such thing as a common law marriage. And to be educated about the implications of kids before marriage.

In Scotland a nikah isn’t automatically legal. What makes a marriage legal is registering it through the system run by National Records of Scotland. You can have a religious or belief ceremony, but the person conducting it has to be an authorised celebrant and the couple still need to have done the paperwork with the registrar.
That’s why most mosques in Scotland won’t do a nikah unless you’ve already shown proof you’ve done the civil registration. For example, Edinburgh Central Mosque says very clearly they won’t carry out a nikah-only ceremony – you need the civil part first.
People sometimes get confused because Scotland is more flexible than England and Wales about where and how weddings can happen, and because religious celebrants can be licensed. That makes it look as though a religious wedding by itself is legally valid. But a nikah on its own, without the civil registration, isn’t recognised by Scottish law.

It’s the separate civil registration thing that makes the difference.

Completely agree with you on the education thing. Given some of the hair-raising mumsnet threads I’ve read, I’d like young women to also learn about types of financial control/abuse. Young people are taught about types of abuse, but not types of financial abuse women experience - like being forced to go into debt to cover maternity leave, or being responsible for all the bills and the kids’ costs while the man gets to invest his salary or live footloose and fancy free.

I am more concerned about 1st cousin marriage's in the Muslim community than i am about Nikah marriages.

I’m also concerned about this. Generally, just really concerned about the welfare of my Muslim sisters right now.

Isn't this an issue for imams etc to sort out.... OK here's your Muslim marriage now make sure you get a legal ceremony done. Simple. There's plenty of religious ceremonies that have no legal standing - and as im fairly certain all Muslims are aware that sharia law isn't 'the law' in the UK that's on them to sort out. No parliament required here.

Roger that. Consider my knowledge updated!

I think the issue therefore is that civil marriage in the Muslim community is not typically done alongside/after the religious ceremony.

I knew this already, as it has been covered on Woman's Hour over the years, as well as other R4 programmes.

I think the Muslim Council and the government should join forces to ensure that the ceremony covers the legal requirements for marriage.

Surely it could be made similar to Catholic weddings.

A Catholic wedding requires obtaining a civil Marriage Schedule from the Register Office before the ceremony and submitting it to the priest, who then sends it to the Register Office after the wedding for the issuance of the marriage certificate

In theory, this would work. However, it still leaves vulnerable women at the mercy of the male officials who may opt out, or force them not to have a civil ceremony.

It’s the same for Sikh marriages too in England, I don’t know if the rules are different elsewhere in the UK.

Personally I have no issue with the government ' interfering' in my religion. Education of all kinds- financial, scientific, health-to help women is very welcome.
First cousin marriage is not that common among Hindus, but it does exist and women should be educated about the severe health consequences.

I know some people feel differently about government 'meddling'.

That's bad
And it totally suits men .. of course.
That needs changing so it's a legal marriage in UK ,asap

This is only true for marriages in Scotland which are performed by authorised celebrants and which have notice given beforehand and are subsequently registered.
The government information is not particularly easy to understand but it is dangerous to suggest that Muslim religious only marriages are automatically legally recognised.
https://www.mygov.scot/getting-married

Yes I know this because my south East Indian friends always have a legal ceremony as part of the celebrations. Sikh and Hindu.

so they know- they’ve incorporated it. The same way many couples who marry abroad need a legal ceremony.

so others find out and know- indeed, incorporate into tradition- I think the more pertinent question is what is it about Muslim culture that makes this a) unimportant or b) deliberately hidden (I don’t know which one it is, that’s why I’m asking)