0:00:03 > 0:00:05Women in Britain are begging Islamic scholars
0:00:05 > 0:00:09to release them from unhappy, even violent marriages.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12I felt I should be ashamed of being there
0:00:12 > 0:00:15and how dare I have the audacity to seek a divorce
0:00:15 > 0:00:18and that I was bringing shame onto my culture.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21These women are afraid to be identified
0:00:21 > 0:00:24for fear of their own community.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Some have experienced domestic violence
0:00:26 > 0:00:29ignored by religious courts.
0:00:29 > 0:00:34Even with the violence, they just totally disregarded me.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Tonight, Panorama goes undercover
0:00:39 > 0:00:41to investigate what's really happening
0:00:41 > 0:00:43in Britain's sharia councils.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55And we find an Islamic judge telling a woman
0:00:55 > 0:00:58to ask the man abusing her if it's her fault.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13OK. How can the Islamic Sharia Council help you?
0:01:13 > 0:01:15In this terraced house in east London,
0:01:15 > 0:01:19Islamic scholars grant divorces sharia style.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21And one more question...
0:01:21 > 0:01:24Around 50 cases, mainly marital disputes,
0:01:24 > 0:01:29are heard at Leyton Sharia Council every month,
0:01:29 > 0:01:3290% of them brought by women from all over the country.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35With an Islamic marriage, it's easier for a man to divorce.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39For many women in Britain, the only way is through these councils.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42This couple don't want to be identified.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45There's, you know, so many things between him and me.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48He says something else, I say something else,
0:01:48 > 0:01:50then we are totally different, you know.
0:01:50 > 0:01:51We can't stand each other.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55They've been coming here for a year. The wife wants a divorce.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57The husband is refusing.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Their case is being heard by the most senior scholar,
0:02:00 > 0:02:02Dr Suhaib Hasan.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05The main thing is, can you live together now
0:02:05 > 0:02:08because of all these disputes and, er...
0:02:09 > 0:02:14- You are saying that he was abusing you verbally, huh?- Yeah.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17I never ever did that. Never.
0:02:18 > 0:02:24Never ever. Never ever accuse, abuse or beat or anything. Nothing.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27- That's you saying. - We never argue.- That's you saying!
0:02:27 > 0:02:29Not what I'm saying. You say, "I didn't do it."
0:02:29 > 0:02:31BOTH SHOUT AT ONCE
0:02:31 > 0:02:34The wife says her husband refuses to work,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37fails to support her and ignores the children.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39- You have three kids.- Yes.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Nine years, eight years, three years.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45- They need a father.- I'm not saying they don't need a father...
0:02:45 > 0:02:48But if you are separated, then what is going to happen?
0:02:48 > 0:02:50They can't see him regularly.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52They see him every Saturday.
0:02:52 > 0:02:53Only for three hours.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57So you can have six hours. I don't mind.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59You can have six hours.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04- When he was at home, how much time did you give them?- All the time...
0:03:04 > 0:03:06All the time sleeping, all the time drinking tea...
0:03:06 > 0:03:09- All the time helping you... - "Go to your room! Go to your room!
0:03:09 > 0:03:12"Don't make noise, I can't bear it." That was your time?
0:03:12 > 0:03:14You took them out anywhere? No!
0:03:14 > 0:03:16When Dr Hasan sends the husband out,
0:03:16 > 0:03:18the wife breaks down and begs for a divorce.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20- She came to my place! - What's the point?
0:03:20 > 0:03:23When everything is finished, he's regretting, what's the point?
0:03:23 > 0:03:26I've got nothing to do with him. I don't feel anything for him.
0:03:26 > 0:03:27SHE SOBS
0:03:30 > 0:03:32I can't do it any more! I hate him!
0:03:34 > 0:03:36He ruined my life!
0:04:07 > 0:04:10For this woman, a sharia divorce is the only option
0:04:10 > 0:04:14because the couple only had a sharia marriage, not a British civil one,
0:04:24 > 0:04:28Another month. It's been a year already,
0:04:28 > 0:04:32and Leyton Sharia Council still isn't granting this woman a divorce.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42Leyton is one of Britain's oldest and most active Islamic councils.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45They cannot enforce their judgments,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47but places like this control the lives
0:04:47 > 0:04:50of many Muslim women in Britain today.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55We try to facilitate for the Muslim community,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58something which they badly need
0:04:58 > 0:05:01because there is no other...
0:05:01 > 0:05:04institution which can provide such services.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06So we are providing it.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10We are not here just to issue divorces.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13but we want to mediate first.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15We try to save the marriages first.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18We don't want the break-up of the marriages a lot.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23So when the people come to us, we try to reconcile them.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25But Islamic rulings given here
0:05:25 > 0:05:29aren't always in the interests of the women concerned
0:05:29 > 0:05:32and can run counter to British law.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40I set off around the country to find out more
0:05:40 > 0:05:42about Britain's sharia councils.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45At King's Cross station, I met Baroness Cox.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49She's introduced a private members' bill in the House of Lords
0:05:49 > 0:05:53to make it an offence for sharia councils to set themselves up
0:05:53 > 0:05:55as courts giving judgments.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59We were on our way to Leeds.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04If one looks at the way in which the system of the sharia courts work
0:06:04 > 0:06:07and the way it's believed to work by people in those communities,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11it is operating like a parallel legal system in this country,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14and in a democracy, you can't have two legal systems.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16There has to be one rule for all.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20No-one knows how many sharia councils there are in Britain
0:06:20 > 0:06:22in mosques and houses.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25One report estimates at least 85.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30It probably wouldn't be safe.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34Baroness Cox has come to Leeds to visit Karma Nirvana,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37a charity which runs a helpline for victims
0:06:37 > 0:06:41of honour-based violence and forced marriage.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44And with domestic violence as well...
0:06:44 > 0:06:50A significant number of women who call complain about sharia councils.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54The provisions of many of the sharia courts are so discriminatory.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57We've heard a lot of evidence of women who are really suffering
0:06:57 > 0:06:59as a result of the rulings of sharia courts,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02of domestic violence being condoned, differential access to divorce,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04issues to do with the care of children,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07and it is essential that something is done about it.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14Sharia councils say their main concern
0:07:14 > 0:07:18is saving marriages through reconciliation.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22But in Leeds, I met a woman who had to battle
0:07:22 > 0:07:25with Leyton Sharia Council for ten years,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27long after her marriage had broken down
0:07:27 > 0:07:31and her husband was back in Pakistan.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35Everybody around me told me that I still needed an Islamic divorce
0:07:35 > 0:07:37and that's what I firmly believed
0:07:37 > 0:07:39in order to move on with my life.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44Farah got a civil divorce from the British courts within six months,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47but Leyton had a different approach.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49They did pressure me to go back to him,
0:07:49 > 0:07:51even though I'd shown him my civil divorce,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54that there's no going back from this because I haven't seen him.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57It must have been about six years at that point.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01Not only did Leyton want Farah to go back to her husband,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04she was bringing up her young daughter alone,
0:08:04 > 0:08:07but she says they tried to interfere in child access,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10which they're not allowed to do.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12They still wanted a condition
0:08:12 > 0:08:15where I would, upon my own expenses,
0:08:15 > 0:08:19take her back to Pakistan and allow him to see her.
0:08:19 > 0:08:20And I refused to do this.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23They said, "If you refuse to do this, then we can't help you."
0:08:23 > 0:08:27And I felt extremely frustrated at that point.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32A barrister specialising in family law got involved in Farah's case.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36Charlotte Proudman has been to many hearings at sharia councils
0:08:36 > 0:08:40and is worried about what she's seen.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43They're totally unregulated, unauthorised.
0:08:43 > 0:08:44There's no accountability.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48And many of them are not operating in accordance with UK law.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53Unfortunately, they are ruling on contact matters, residence disputes.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55They certainly don't act in accordance with UK law,
0:08:55 > 0:09:00where the paramount importance is the child's welfare.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04Leyton says it doesn't get involved with children,
0:09:04 > 0:09:08but sharia rulings on such matters have featured on their website.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10One Islamic school of thought decrees
0:09:10 > 0:09:14a father can take custody of a boy from the age of seven,
0:09:14 > 0:09:16a girl as young as nine.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19When Farah refused to agree to Leyton's demand
0:09:19 > 0:09:22to give her husband in Pakistan access rights,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26she says her divorce ground to a halt.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28This is definitely what delayed it,
0:09:28 > 0:09:30because they did say point blank,
0:09:30 > 0:09:33"Well, we can't give you this, then, because you must sign this."
0:09:33 > 0:09:36They're not supposed to make rulings with regard to children.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39- Did you know that? - I didn't know that at the time.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41That's why I felt really...
0:09:42 > 0:09:44..powerless to do anything.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48She was held to ransom.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52Unless she agreed to her husband having contact with her daughter,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55they wouldn't issue her with a sharia divorce,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58which is why the whole process took some ten years.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02When Leyton finally agreed to issue a divorce certificate,
0:10:02 > 0:10:05Farah decided it wasn't worth pursuing any more.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16We've heard of even more worrying divorce cases
0:10:16 > 0:10:19handled by Leyton Sharia Council
0:10:19 > 0:10:23where children and domestic violence are involved.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26This woman told peers at the House of Lords
0:10:26 > 0:10:30about her application to Leyton for a sharia divorce.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33It was an ordeal in itself.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35A terrible experience.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39Sonia had already been granted a divorce by a UK court
0:10:39 > 0:10:43because of her husband's extreme violence.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45He'd started beating me up.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49Pulling my hair, punching me, kicking me
0:10:49 > 0:10:51and then eventually, he chucked me down the stairs.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55I was unconscious for I don't know how long.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59Sonia's husband hit their young son, too,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01so the British court ruled
0:11:01 > 0:11:05he could only have indirect contact with their children.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08But Leyton Sharia Council told Sonia
0:11:08 > 0:11:10she'd have to give the children up to him.
0:11:10 > 0:11:17I couldn't bear the thought of such a violent person having my children,
0:11:17 > 0:11:21so this came as a major shock to me.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23But what was even more shocking
0:11:23 > 0:11:27was when I explained this to them on the phone,
0:11:27 > 0:11:31why he shouldn't have access to the children,
0:11:31 > 0:11:36their reaction was, "Well, you can't go against what Islam says."
0:11:38 > 0:11:40Sonia stood her ground.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Eventually, she got Leyton Sharia Council
0:11:43 > 0:11:46to drop their demand she give up her children.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52I knew that they couldn't rule over the Queen's law.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55So this is why this helped me majorly
0:11:55 > 0:11:57to win my battle with the sharia eventually.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01Almost two years to get my divorce.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05Their attitude was absolutely diabolical.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11When we asked Leyton Sharia Council about Sonia and Farah's cases,
0:12:11 > 0:12:15they told us that with regard to children, if a marriage ends,
0:12:15 > 0:12:19then the question of access to both parents is crucial.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Safety is paramount, they say,
0:12:21 > 0:12:25and any UK court order must be followed.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31In east London, we'd seen the public face
0:12:31 > 0:12:34of one of the country's main sharia councils
0:12:34 > 0:12:37serving the Muslim community.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42Leyton say they don't advise women who have been abused
0:12:42 > 0:12:45to return to their husbands.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47But given the experience of the two women we'd talked to,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51we wanted to see what advice Leyton would give
0:12:51 > 0:12:53a vulnerable female client.
0:12:54 > 0:12:59We sent an undercover reporter to consult Dr Hasan.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Her story, that her husband was hitting her,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04was based on ones we'd heard.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08The Government says domestic violence is a crime
0:13:08 > 0:13:10which should be reported to the police.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00Dr Hasan sits on a dais above the woman, like in a court.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04He wonders if she's done anything to provoke this treatment.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Dr Hasan suggests the woman involves her mother
0:14:25 > 0:14:27and brings her husband here.
0:15:09 > 0:15:10After half an hour,
0:15:10 > 0:15:14Dr Hasan's made clear his view of involving the police.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17He advises our undercover reporter to have counselling
0:15:17 > 0:15:20with his wife at Leyton.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23She has a TV show where she gives advice to Muslim women.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29We've covered Mrs Hasan's face in line with her religious beliefs.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34Her reaction to the abuse is to wonder if the woman is at fault.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10Our reporter asks Mrs Hasan what to do about the physical abuse.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52When we asked Leyton Sharia Council
0:16:52 > 0:16:54about what we'd filmed secretly here,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57they said with domestic violence,
0:16:57 > 0:17:00it may be essential to involve the police and other authorities,
0:17:00 > 0:17:04but that can be a step with irrevocable consequences.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12We asked the chief crown prosecutor for the north west
0:17:12 > 0:17:14to look at our secret footage.
0:17:14 > 0:17:19Nazir Afzal is a Muslim who has taken the national lead for the CPS
0:17:19 > 0:17:22in tackling honour-based and domestic violence.
0:17:23 > 0:17:24Mr Afzal, what's your reaction
0:17:24 > 0:17:26to what you've seen here at Leyton Sharia Council?
0:17:26 > 0:17:30I'm disappointed, but I'm not surprised.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Most of them are fine, but there are some, clearly, like this one,
0:17:34 > 0:17:37who are putting women at risk.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Um...and doing so for ridiculous reasons.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42Namely, that they are somehow responsible
0:17:42 > 0:17:44for the abuse they are suffering.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48The Government's attitude is that domestic violence is a crime,
0:17:48 > 0:17:50- and yet they seem to be glossing over this.- Absolutely.
0:17:50 > 0:17:56What I've just witnessed, is...so dangerous
0:17:56 > 0:17:58because if there is early intervention,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01we know that people's lives can be saved,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04they can be spared significant harm.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08Where people are deterred from seeking help and support,
0:18:08 > 0:18:11regrettably, many of them go on to suffer a lifetime of cruelty
0:18:11 > 0:18:14and significant harm.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Across the country, Manchester, Birmingham, Bradford,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26where there are large Muslim communities,
0:18:26 > 0:18:29there are now sharia councils.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33Some seem to discriminate against women in different ways.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36They're required to produce two male witnesses,
0:18:36 > 0:18:40and it costs a woman at least £400 to get an Islamic divorce,
0:18:40 > 0:18:42while a man can pay nothing.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Under sharia law,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50a woman must hand over all her dowry before a divorce can be granted.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55But increasingly, women here have to rely on sharia councils.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01Many Muslim women are actually just obtaining an Islamic marriage
0:19:01 > 0:19:04rather than a civil marriage.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06They're not aware that there is a distinction.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10Once they have a sharia marriage, that's not recognised under UK law,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13which means, when it comes to divorce,
0:19:13 > 0:19:17they're not entitled to any rights that a married couple would be.
0:19:22 > 0:19:23Having just a sharia marriage
0:19:23 > 0:19:27means a man can take more than one wife
0:19:27 > 0:19:29because he's not married under UK law.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33And it puts women at a financial disadvantage.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38For example, the house, money, financial assets -
0:19:38 > 0:19:40they're not automatically entitled to half
0:19:40 > 0:19:42or even a small percentage of that.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47I had come to Bristol to meet a woman,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50a Muslim convert who says she was exploited
0:19:50 > 0:19:53because she only had a sharia marriage.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Why didn't you have a British civil ceremony?
0:19:57 > 0:20:00He didn't want to. He said it wasn't necessary.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03Cara met her husband at university,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06but when her marriage broke down after several years,
0:20:06 > 0:20:09she was very vulnerable.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13He abused me in every way possible that you can think of.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Like mentally and emotionally.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18I was completely controlled by him.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21He was completely obsessed with money.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24He made me hand over all my earnings,
0:20:24 > 0:20:27my student loans, my grants.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31When Cara found her husband had been bringing prostitutes to their house,
0:20:31 > 0:20:34she ran away and was admitted to a refuge.
0:20:35 > 0:20:40I explained what was happening and they confirmed that it was abuse.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42I was in an abusive relationship.
0:20:42 > 0:20:47Cara contacted Leyton Sharia Council to get a divorce
0:20:47 > 0:20:51and sent them a long email detailing all the abuse she had suffered.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55There was no compassion, there was no empathy,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57there was absolutely nothing.
0:20:57 > 0:21:02It was like they were just treating me as a statistic.
0:21:03 > 0:21:08And then to actually ask me to pay £400
0:21:08 > 0:21:12when women like me are left with nothing.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Then, Cara says, Leyton informed her
0:21:15 > 0:21:17she would have to come to London with her husband
0:21:17 > 0:21:19for the council to decide.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24They were saying that we had to go and have arbitration.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26I thought it was shocking.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28I couldn't believe it.
0:21:28 > 0:21:34I thought, surely they can see that women who are going through this
0:21:34 > 0:21:40can't be forced to meet up with someone who's abusing them?
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Cara refused to go to Leyton.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46She never got her sharia divorce.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Her husband kept the two houses they'd bought
0:21:52 > 0:21:57and gave her back far less than she'd contributed to the marriage.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02If you added up everything I handed over to him, it was about 80,000.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04But he didn't give me that in the end.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07Because you only had a sharia marriage.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Yeah. That was why he did it like that.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24Where there are allegations of domestic violence,
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Leyton Sharia Council told us
0:22:26 > 0:22:28they can ensure that husband and wife
0:22:28 > 0:22:31do not meet during the mediation.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35Leyton also told us that in cases of financial hardship,
0:22:35 > 0:22:38their nominal fee can be reduced or dropped.
0:22:38 > 0:22:39And in the last seven months,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42this has happened with about a third of applicants.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Leyton in London is one of the main sharia councils.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52But there are some in other parts of Britain
0:22:52 > 0:22:54which have also meddled in legal issues
0:22:54 > 0:22:58which should be matters for the UK courts alone.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07I travelled across the Pennines to Dewsbury.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11In an old pub here, there is now a sharia council.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18Even when I was pregnant with my first child, he used to hit me.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22This woman, another victim of domestic violence,
0:23:22 > 0:23:27tried to get an Islamic divorce from Dewsbury Sharia Council.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30I wasn't allowed to see my friends.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32I wasn't allowed to do anything.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34So I was living in constant fear.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39Ayesha and her children had injunctions against her husband.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41He'd been in prison for the violence.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47But Dewsbury told her she'd have to go with him for mediation.
0:23:48 > 0:23:54They wanted me to go there and have a meeting with my ex face to face.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57I said, "I can't do that because he's not even allowed near my house
0:23:57 > 0:24:01"and because I'm frightened, I can't face him."
0:24:01 > 0:24:03And you had an injunction against your husband
0:24:03 > 0:24:05and they still wanted you to meet with him?
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Yes. They didn't take any notice.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11They refused to look at any of that documentation.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14They don't take any court orders in the UK seriously,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17which is why they mediate in situations
0:24:17 > 0:24:20where women are in fear of their lives, and they have injunctions
0:24:20 > 0:24:24to prohibit their husband from coming anywhere near them.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29Only when Charlotte Proudman took up Ayesha's case
0:24:29 > 0:24:33did Dewsbury agree to see her without her husband.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37But Charlotte was not allowed into the hearing.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41Ayesha faced five men alone without legal representation.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44I wished there was a woman there.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47I wasn't even making eye contact, to be honest, with them.
0:24:47 > 0:24:48I was just looking at the floor.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53I know that I can't trust them because of what they did.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58Ayesha waited two years to get a sharia divorce.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02Meanwhile, her husband had already moved to Pakistan and married again.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Dewsbury Sharia Council told us
0:25:06 > 0:25:09they couldn't comment on individual cases,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12but they're aware of the standing and gravity of UK court orders
0:25:12 > 0:25:15and would never advise clients to breach them.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19They can arrange separate meetings on different days to avoid this.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25When there's violence, should they be mediating?
0:25:25 > 0:25:27No. The best advice we give
0:25:27 > 0:25:30across communities, across government
0:25:30 > 0:25:32is mediation is not something
0:25:32 > 0:25:35you should be considering in this situation.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Um...this is not a family relationship squabble.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40This is violence.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44And violence leads to more violence and leads to significant harm.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47This is the last thing they should be contemplating.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54The previous government gave up
0:25:54 > 0:25:57on its attempt to investigate sharia councils.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00They couldn't get proper access to them.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04This government's view is existing legislation
0:26:04 > 0:26:08already deals with the issues raised in Baroness Cox's bill.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14It does appear as though it is perhaps being politically correct.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17It doesn't want to be deemed to be Islamophobic.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Without government support, her bill stalled.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24But she isn't giving up and will re-table the bill
0:26:24 > 0:26:28to tackle sharia councils in the new session of Parliament.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31It is a system which, in its gender discrimination
0:26:31 > 0:26:35causing women such suffering, is utterly incompatible
0:26:35 > 0:26:38with our country's values of promoting gender equality
0:26:38 > 0:26:40and one rule for all.
0:26:40 > 0:26:45It is time to draw a line in the sand and say enough is enough.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48Our investigation has shown that one important sharia council
0:26:48 > 0:26:52actively discourages women complaining of abuse
0:26:52 > 0:26:55from seeking help from the authorities.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Women from minorities are significantly less likely
0:27:07 > 0:27:09to report the abuse they're suffering.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12We want them to realise that's not the place to go to.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Where they can go to are the women's groups that provide support
0:27:15 > 0:27:18and the police, who can do something
0:27:18 > 0:27:20to ensure this doesn't happen in the future.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23The women we met finally freed themselves.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26They want action against some sharia councils,
0:27:26 > 0:27:30but not the Islamic code itself.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33They need to be held accountable.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35They need to be investigated.
0:27:35 > 0:27:40They need to be made aware of what they're doing is wrong.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44It's not to do with the sharia.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47I believe it's the way it's being run. The system.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51The way the system's being run is a sham.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56I really think that they were violating the codes of Islam
0:27:56 > 0:28:01by treating me, because I'm a woman, in this way.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04Whatever British law decrees,
0:28:04 > 0:28:07as long as the Government allows a parallel legal system
0:28:07 > 0:28:08to exist in practice,
0:28:08 > 0:28:12there'll be other women condemned by religious councils
0:28:12 > 0:28:15to miserable lives.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd