Formal Western law access requires resources and severing community ties for Muslim women.

Evidence

As things stand, Canadian Muslim communities will continue to use Islamic principles informally and women remain unprotected in this arena. However, should a woman be able to turn to common law, something that requires resources and a willingness to live without community, the possibility exists that she may be able to secure her rights under Western law. But here too, we must note that Muslim women’s experiences of Canadian law have not been entirely positive and that our secular state is a racist state, complete with patriarchal and racist judges. — Sherene Razack, Casting Out, 393

Categorization

• XREF: Lived-experience data showing neither secular law nor informal Islamic practice protects Muslim women — relevant to reader’s MOC thread about policy outcomes independent of definitional debate.