Register Our Marriage (ROM) campaign on

Unregistered Religious Marriages

Briefing by Aina Khan – 11 February 2016

Aina Khan is Founder and Director of the ROM (Register Our Marriage) campaign, addressing the dramatic rise in religious marriages which have no legal standing. Aina is Head of the Islamic Department at Duncan Lewis Solicitors and is a leading expert in Islamic family law. Aina’s 25 years’ legal experience, coupled with daily calls regarding unregistered religious marriages, has led her to publicly highlight:

All faiths should register their religious marriages (unless they have already had a civil registration in the UK or abroad). The law needs to be updated to make this mandatory.

The Marriage Act 1949 currently requires only Anglican, Jewish and Quaker marriages to be registered. Other faiths can choose not to register marriages. In 21st century Britain, surely a fair marriage law needs to cover all faiths - or none?

The Law Commission issued its Scoping Report on 17 December 2015, citing the ROM campaign at clause 1.35, after Aina was consulted regarding marriage law reform:

http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/marriage-law

Our unequal law affects all minority faiths equally, but smaller communities such as Hindus, Sikhs and others register their marriages. Muslims are the only community increasingly likely not to register under civil law. Reliable data is greatly needed, but Aina Khan’s anecdotal experience reveals:-

90%+ of Mosques are not registering religious marriages under civil law

80%+ of current Muslim marriages are not being registered – and growing

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?

a) widespread ignorance of the law - ‘living together gives the same rights’

b) complacency - ‘we will get round to it one day’

c) lack of commitment ‘let’s see how it goes’

d) belief that ‘the Islamic ceremony is all that matters’

e) deliberate avoidance of the English divorce courts and sharing of property or income

f) wish to have a polygamous marriage while not committing Bigamy under the law

WHAT IS THE IMPACT?

There were 2.7 million Muslims in the UK at the last Census in 2011, with a majority under age 30. If even 5% are in unregistered marriages, over 100,000 people are affected – they have NO matrimonial legal rights and are classed as merely living together. They have no rights beyond Trust law (which is expensive and complex) and sometimes a claim for Schedule 1 children’s housing needs. Cohabitation rights are not likely in the short term future. But it must be against public policy, and discriminatory, for women to find themselves often unknowingly in marriages which are not legally recognised. REPERCUSSIONS:

- Overnight homelessness, destitution, community shame

- Reliance on family or Welfare Benefits to ensure survival

- Financial losses from investment of income and savings in ‘matrimonial’ home and business

- No Pension rights

- Not treated as ‘next of kin’ on death and cannot inherit

WHO IS ‘ROM’?

Aina Khan runs ROM with Working Groups of Lawyers, Academics, and Community Activists. Aina wanted to build on her work as a founding member of the ‘Muslim Marriage Working Group’ at the Ministry of Justice which produced a Report that identified 2 main routes to tackling the issue head on:

a. Legal route: change of legislation so that all faith marriages have to be registered

b. Community route: education that a truly Muslim marriage is one that protects women and children

Aina has started the process of education in the community via social media as well as local engagement eg national road shows, talks to school and college students, community groups etc.

Register Our Marriage (ROM) road shows have taken place in London, Bradford, Birmingham, Cardiff, Italy and Germany (and via Skype to India) throughout 2015 – the aim has been disseminating knowledge, doing comparative analysis and building up local commitment to registration of religious marriages.

ROM enjoys the support of leading women's groups, Imams, Mosques, Sharia Councils etc and has achieved extensive publicity, appearing on the front page of the Times and in the Guardian, Telegraph and other mainstream and social media.

This is a legal reform issue, pure and simple. It must be emphasised that this is not just a Muslim issue and the approach is interfaith and proactive, receiving Government as well as cross-political support. Men as well as women are now saying: ‘You register your car – so register your marriage!’

WHEN are events taking place?

ROM Road shows will be held in:

· Newcastle March 2016

· London May 2016

· Leeds May 2016

HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT ROM

· Join our regional Working Groups – including Skype Working Groups

· Become ROM Ambassadors spreading our message to your networks

· Ask ROM to provide road shows in schools, universities, community centres

· Tweet, ‘Like’ our Facebook page, write Blogs, arrange online forums

· Legal, Academic and Parliamentary research

· Take the SurveyMonkey survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.net/summary/rZXKxaotvFLt8EExyOS5XDs48U3PNuFpvAS0mYijjNc_3D

ROM’S AIMS

- Pledges from Mosques and wedding venues to become authorised to register civil marriages

- ‘Buddy’ scheme for Registrars to provide mentoring and support to trainee Registrars

- Social media, TV and radio appearances on mainstream and Minority channels

- Islamic scholars emphasising Muslim marriages must protect women and children

- Set up an APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group) on Religious Marriage and Divorce

CONTACT

Email:

Tel: 020 7923 8468/ (direct line)

News http://www.duncanlewis.co.uk/Islamic_News.html

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/register.our.marriage

Twitter https://mobile.twitter.com/signitido

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