By james art “I never advise sisters to go and work only for their careers. This is very limited,” said the imam, adding, “My dear sister, you are a wife and a mother, or you are a wife and may soon become a mother. See yourself from this point on as a wife and mother, not a career woman.
The mosque’s religious adviser illustrated the “harm” that could come from a woman going out to work by asking: “If you’ve been away most of the day and you’re very tired when you get home, can you help raise your children properly? Can you properly fulfill the rights of your husband, the rights that you should fulfill?
“If it’s going to create a burden and a struggle where you’re going to need more of your husband’s support and that can cause some tension, all for a few extra pounds? This is not recommended.”
“Coercive and controlling”
He said that marriage is an institution and that any functioning institution “functions as a hierarchy” in which Allah “has given the role of leader to the husband”.
Ms Manson said: “The idea that a woman must be subservient to her husband – and obliged to make herself available for sex – leaves women vulnerable to abuse in coercive and controlling relationships.”
Green Lane Masjid and Community Center and the Charity Commission have been approached for comment.