Muslim women's experiences of Islamic evaluative mediation within Shari'a Councils in England and Wales in relation to obtaining divorce as victims of domestic abuse

This article examines Muslim women's experiences of Islamic evaluative mediation within Shari'a Councils on seeking an Islamic divorce, including women who have experienced domestic abuse and encounter power imbalance. The article draws on the authors' exploratory study of 30 Muslim women in England who have experienced domestic abuse and details their use of such services, the desire for informal justice and the processes involved. Islamic mediators act as evaluative mediators and can influence the decisions reached by the participants and give advice. In the UK, facilitative mediation is mainly used, not evaluative mediation. This article focuses on Islamic mediation as the forum provided by Shari'a Councils for the Muslim women who use their services, exploring how Islamic solutions play a nuanced role within Muslim family law. Finally, the article explores Muslim women's narratives, and how women are seeking religiously informed support and solutions to their marital problems. Shari'a Councils provide Islamic mediation in order to move towards an Islamic divorce. But when Muslim women who are victims of domestic abuse are unable to achieve an Islamic divorce the Shari'a Councils provide an Islamic divorce called faskh.