There is a similar dilemma DownUnda with Aboriginal Traditional Law.

Suppose an Aboriginal man in a traditional community beats his wife.

General law makes this a crime, probably punishable by prison. Prison rarely rehabilitates or prevents it from happening again, or deters others.

Aboriginal law makes this a crime, punishable by spearing in the leg and/or a beating from the wife's relatives. For their culture, this seems to produce better results in terms of not re-offending, etc.

Problem is, under general law, spearing in the leg is assault, punishable by prison, and there is no legal way that can be allowed.

So do we (a) over-ride Aboriginal culture and ban traditional punishments? or (b) deny the Aboriginal man protection of the general law and let people spear him?

Any answers?

Don't whine to me because you weren't smart enough to exterminate the native riffraff.

Haw, we did in Tasmania. Well, nearly.

You devils, you.

Just put them all in jail - sooner or later you'll run out of room or relatives. /snark.


That is a different situation though. The Aboriginal laws were there first, no?

Unfortunately, having allowed other religions such systems, were we to disallow a sharia version, that would create a serious inequality in law, founded on religious identification.

Quite aside from the fact that targeting moslems in particular as a problem, increases the general levels of intolerance towards them from other groups; there's also the knotty problem of the 'kulturkampf' effect. History tells us, very clearly, that if you want a religion to lose ground then the worst possible thing you can do is stamp down on it.

I guaran-fucking-tee you that there will be moslem men and women in the Uk arguing fervently for the right to have such courts, who five or ten years ago would have argued just as vehemently against.

No. But surely the "enlightened" West is about bringing people to our standard, not sinking to the lowest common denominator?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22044724#TWEET712894

BBC Panorama has uncovered fresh evidence of how some Sharia councils in Britain may be putting Muslim women "at risk" by pressuring them to stay in abusive marriages.

I can't imagine how hard it would be to break free from your community when you're being abused by your man and your culture. Are there women's groups working to free people from this?

There are, yes. I've seen interviews with some really impressive young women who are at the frontline of the fight against forced marriage and domestic abuse in their communities. From what I've heard there are some women working within the sharia courts system to try and push female rights to divorce settlements and child custody and the like.

Bogging down the system with lengthy processes when justice could be just a stone's through away, tough sell.

You, sir, are smart and eloquent. I would vote for you.

man, that's dark. Clever, but dark.

:vader1: The dark side of the Cellar is strong.