I think Sharia-type councils that have no legal standing but which have immense unofficial power in the muslim community are certainly not at all desirable. Because of community pressure, women feel that they have no choice but to submit to the authority of these courts, rather than to use the British legal system, even though the religious courts' rulings significantly disadvantage them and put them and their children at risk of bullying and violence.
I believe that the Jewish religion has a similar sort of religious council that, again, carries no legal standing, but which is equally influential. It also has severe implications for women in the matter of divorce.
I think greatnan also has a very good point as to the very strong influence of Catholic priests, who also put pressure on women to submit to their husbands' demands, although I guess their authority has waned over the last few decades - I certainly hope so.
I think both any type of religious court is undesirable but it's difficult to know what can be done about them if particular religious communities wish to use them. I feel the only hope is that more women like Sonia will have the courage to stand firm, as she did, and eventually obtain justice.
I wondered, if a woman had been told by one of these courts not to report to the police an act of violence against her, and that woman was subsequently killed by her husband, could the religious court officials be held legally responsible for urging someone not to report a crime?
On a slightly different point, now that the defence of "marital coercion" has been removed from the statute books, some commentators have suggested that, whilst it may be an outdated concept for most British women, its existence in certain ethnic communities is very real.
