Arden School of Law invites you to attend the next School of Law Research Seminar, taking place on Friday 10th November 2023, at 1pm (GMT), via Zoom.
Speaker: Dr Nikky Ezerioha, Lecturer in Law at Arden University.
Title: Religious-Only Marriages and Segregation in Contemporary Britain: Legal Positionings and Recommendations.
Abstract: British Muslim women face several challenges in marriages formed by religious ceremonies – “nikah only marriage” referred to as unregistered Muslim marriages. The recent decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of Akhter v Khan [2020] EWCA Civ 122 sheds light on the plight of British Muslim women in Britain. In this case, the court held that the nikah was a non-marriage, described the ceremony as a “non-qualifying ceremony”, and as a result they do not create a marriage or even a void marriage under English law.
This research aims to investigate the reasons British Muslim women living in segregated communities in Britain irrespective of their ethnic origin are entering the “nikah only marriage” as well as the level of knowledge for not considering a civil marriage based on the fact that the nikah in a private home is not legally recognised in Britain. A triangulated approach of a semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire was used which focused on British Muslim women living in segregated communities in the cities of Birmingham (Alum rock, Bordesley Green and Sparkhill), Bradford, Leicester, and London (Walthamstow). This research reveals a variety of opinions, including choice, maintaining the izzat, problem of segregation, the family especially the first generation of Muslim parents are some of the deep-rooted reasons that British Muslim women are entering the nikah only marriages. In effect, should the British government recognise the nikah only marriage as a valid marriage by creating a separate set of rules and regulations for Muslims.
Date: Friday 10th November 2023, at 1pm (GMT)
Venue: Zoom
