Even the feminist group initially open to Sharia arbitration ultimately retracted that support

Evidence

Only one feminist organization, the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF), initially supported the use of religious principles when they do not conflict with Canadian law. LEAF acknowledged that the use of arbitration was attractive because it was an alternate and cheaper form of dispute resolution. Further, they noted that some Muslim women were in favour of using Sharia. … LEAF later reversed its position, announcing that it now believed that the government should prohibit the use of the Arbitration Act to protect women from being coerced into settling their disputes in accordance with religious law. It is possible that this reversal emerged from the realization that the government refused to consider building in safeguards into the act. — Sherene Razack, Casting Out, 356

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth chasing: did LEAF’s reversal follow direct lobbying, and what internal pressure forced the about-face? The ‘possibly’ in the text signals the author herself is speculating.