Both men and women are to be respected. And if a man trangresses the limits of Allah then the women has every right to seek damages in a shariah court of Law.

And if one did look through islamic history they would see that women did successfully sue her relatives and husband when they had transgressed the limits. And she won custody battles.

Also custody of the children is to be granted to the mother until they are of an age they can decide for themselves who they would like to live with. And as in western courts if a parent can prove an abusive nature by one of the parents (through cctv or eye witness testimony) then that person will not gain custody or visitation rights.

The problem in the middle east is that their is alot of corruption within the court systems, alot of family networking and honour involved as well as alot of disorganization. And lets not talk about the misguided who condone this type of behavior and blame it on Islam.

That is one positive about America in that their judicial infrastructure is more accessible and organized even compared to Britain and the rest of Europe!

And one of my goals is to learn more about Islam and help to create a better judicial infrastructure in muslim countries. (based on the Quran and sunnah)

Maryum : Umm Hasan bint Abdullah Alshabrawishi