Limping marriages: a problem cured or hidden?

Sofia Gondal Lecturer at City University; Barrister Great James Street Chambers

This article examines the problem of ‘limping marriages’ in the context of English immigration and family law. Limping marriages or chained or anchored wives are not new concepts in academic literature. However the scale of the problem has not been researched. With no reliable data on limping marriages and with fewer recent immigration cases where it is an issue it is not clear whether the problem has been resolved or driven elsewhere. The focus of this article is on Muslim women as existing research suggests some of them may be impacted more than others arising from their need for a religious divorce. 

The article tracks the increasingly restrictive approach of the law to recognition of overseas divorces culminating in the Family Law Act 1986. The problem of limping marriages is then illustrated by reference to cases highlighting issues which have sometimes led to disparate and unfair...

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