B'nai B'rith Canada Supports Gender Non-Equality (citwire)
Report via HAARETZ.com
B'nai Brith Canada is an independent voice of the Jewish community. B'nai B'rith Canada is supporting conservative Muslims who are demanding to have the right to use private arbitration based on Islamic laws for the determination of marital, custody and inheritance disputes.
In a report sent to the Ontario Attorney General last month, it recommended that family arbitration based on Islamic law be permitted, though regulated under the provinces' Arbitration Act.
The move has rightfully angered both Muslim womens groups, and Jewish feminists.
B'nai Brith Canada is an independent voice of the Jewish community. B'nai B'rith Canada is supporting conservative Muslims who are demanding to have the right to use private arbitration based on Islamic laws for the determination of marital, custody and inheritance disputes.
In a report sent to the Ontario Attorney General last month, it recommended that family arbitration based on Islamic law be permitted, though regulated under the provinces' Arbitration Act.
The move has rightfully angered both Muslim womens groups, and Jewish feminists.
"B'nai B'rith is supporting the more conservative elements in the Muslim community, and that's not good for women," said Ester Reiter, a secular Jewish feminist and a professor of women's studies at Toronto's York University. "I'm not sure what a smart idea that was. Tradition should not be used as an excuse for limiting gender equality."
The decision of B'nai B'rith Canada also is likely to surprise some observers, who have noted its tendency to oppose Muslim groups on foreign policy issues.
If the proposal is adopted, it would be the first recognition of Islamic law, or Sharia, in any Western society. Sharia is a centuries-old system of justice based on the Koran. While it includes general invocations of justice and equality, it has been used in some Muslim nations to justify stoning of adulteresses, flogging of rape victims and various types of mutilation.
While Ontario Muslims favoring Sharia are not seeking its application in criminal matters, they want it approved for arbitration of family and civil matters. Even this is controversial. Under Sharia, male heirs receive almost double the inheritance of females. Alimony is limited to a period ranging from three months to one year, unless a woman was pregnant before she was divorced. Only men can initiate divorce proceedings, and fathers virtually always are awarded custody of any children who have reached puberty.
The government report noted that religious-based arbitration can only bind parties who voluntarily submit their dispute to the process, and even then the arbitrator cannot impose settlements that are contrary to the gender equality guarantees contained in the Canadian Charter of Rights. Also, the federal Divorce Act would continue to require that "the best interests of the child" be the criterion in custody decisions.
B'nai B'rith Canada and pro-Sharia Muslims contended in submissions to the government inquiry that rabbinical courts have functioned successfully as arbitration forums in Canada for generations, and that Islamic courts must be given the same rights under Canadian constitutional guarantees of equality and freedom of religion.
The decision of B'nai B'rith Canada also is likely to surprise some observers, who have noted its tendency to oppose Muslim groups on foreign policy issues.
If the proposal is adopted, it would be the first recognition of Islamic law, or Sharia, in any Western society. Sharia is a centuries-old system of justice based on the Koran. While it includes general invocations of justice and equality, it has been used in some Muslim nations to justify stoning of adulteresses, flogging of rape victims and various types of mutilation.
While Ontario Muslims favoring Sharia are not seeking its application in criminal matters, they want it approved for arbitration of family and civil matters. Even this is controversial. Under Sharia, male heirs receive almost double the inheritance of females. Alimony is limited to a period ranging from three months to one year, unless a woman was pregnant before she was divorced. Only men can initiate divorce proceedings, and fathers virtually always are awarded custody of any children who have reached puberty.
The government report noted that religious-based arbitration can only bind parties who voluntarily submit their dispute to the process, and even then the arbitrator cannot impose settlements that are contrary to the gender equality guarantees contained in the Canadian Charter of Rights. Also, the federal Divorce Act would continue to require that "the best interests of the child" be the criterion in custody decisions.
B'nai B'rith Canada and pro-Sharia Muslims contended in submissions to the government inquiry that rabbinical courts have functioned successfully as arbitration forums in Canada for generations, and that Islamic courts must be given the same rights under Canadian constitutional guarantees of equality and freedom of religion.
The attitude of the Jewish B'nai Brith makes absolutely no sense. Apparently in the past, they have worked to to assist the community in eliminating antisemitism, and fostered goodwill. This is out of character for their organization.
If Canada condones this practice, it would be akin to letting a religious fringe in the US under self imposed laws bring back those years when women couldn't vote or work outside the home, are totally governed at the whim of their husbands. Bah!
If Canada condones this practice, it would be akin to letting a religious fringe in the US under self imposed laws bring back those years when women couldn't vote or work outside the home, are totally governed at the whim of their husbands. Bah!
posted @ 11:18 PM | Permalink
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