Britain: Muslim men in some communities are having up to 20 children each because of polygamy and the rise of religiously sanctioned gender discrimination under Sharia Law

Baroness Cox, a cross-bench peer, highlighted a series of shocking examples of the impact of Sharia law on Muslim women in Britain as she called for them to be given greater protection under equality legislation. She disclosed one case in which a 63-year-old man tried to divorce his 23-year-old wife and arrange her marriage to a Pakistani man who needed a visa. He asked a gynecologist to "repair the hymen" of his wife so she could remarry, and stood to make £10,000 "for effecting the arrangement". "Such shocking cases surely cannot be allowed to continue," she said. "The rights of Muslim women and the rule of law in our land must be upheld." In other examples, Baroness Cox revealed that Muslim men divorce their wives by simply saying or writing "I divorce you" three times. She added: "My Muslim friends tell me that in some communities with high polygamy and divorce rates, men may have up to 20 children each. Clearly, youngsters growing up in dysfunctional families may be vulnerable to extremism and demography may affect democracy." She put forward proposals to close a loophole in the Equality Act which she said enables Sharia courts to practice sexual discrimination. Baroness Deech, another cross-bench peer, supported the bill and said: "We must not tolerate the sweeping of violence against women or children under the carpet by any religion in the name of faith." Lord Green of Deddington, chairman of MigrationWatch, said that Britain was entirely different to Muslim countries, adding: "Those who come must accept that." The independent crossbench peer said: "We must be prepared to insist that there can be only one law. We must get away from what I call the Rotherham complex where the authorities were so afraid of offending a minority community that they turned a blind eye to the appalling abuse of young mainly British girls."