Muslim women in Britain

Muslim career women in Britain are choosing to become involved in polygamous relationships because of a lack of suitable men.  Some of them even choosing to become second or third wives to married men, according to the Islamic Sharia Council.  The charity, based in Britain, gives legal guidance to Muslims and has said it is receiving a high number of queries from women struggling to find suitable partners.  Many of the women have also said they would prefer to hold down high-profile jobs rather than look after their husbands.

 Taking more than one wife is illegal in the UK but men marry again in a nikah religious ceremony, allowing them to take up to four wives.  Mizan Raja, 35, who organises Muslim marriages around the world, told the Sunday Times, that he has had hundreds of calls in the past six months from women asking about becoming second wives.  Mr Raja said: 'The demand for these relationships is led by the women, not the men. In one generation women have become educated, entrepreneurial and professional.

 'The Muslim community is struggling with this, how do you cope with women who wear trousers?'  He said that many Muslim men just wanted a 'homemaker' and to come home to a clean house and a plate of food on the table.  He added the men didn't want the 'headache' of being in a relationship with a professional woman.  It is thought the Muslim women are also actively seeking out married men because they do not want the hassle of having to cook for their husbands after a hard day at work and are quite happy to have part-time relationships.

One woman who spoke to the reporter, and asked not to be named, had an affair with a married man after divorcing her first husband.
When he offered to leave his wife she preferred to become his second wife because she did not want him 'under her shoes 24/7'.
It is thought about 12,000 brides are brought to the UK by Muslim men.
The decline in available husbands has become such a problem it is now referred to as the 'Muslim spinster crisis'.