Rajnaara C Akhtar
Biographic Data
| ID | 4153603 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rajnaara C Akhtar |
| GIVEN NAMES | Rajnaara C |
| FAMILY NAME | Akhtar |
| SIGNATURE | AKHTAR R C |
| AFFILIATIONS | De Montfort University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5352-8883 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 3 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Independent Celebrant-Led Wedding Ceremonies: Translating, Tweaking, and Innovating Traditions
This article explores ceremonial design of independent celebrant-led wedding ceremonies in England and Wales. It draws on a qualitative study which involved focus groups with celebrants and interviews with individuals who have had an independent celebrant-led wedding ceremony. Six factors are described which influenced how couples translated and tweaked traditions or innovated ceremonial elements: faith, heritage, values, kin, informality, and te…
The Importance of Being Authorized: The Genesis, Limitations, and Legacy of the Marriage Act 1898
Every place of worship that is registered for weddings is able to appoint its own ‘authorised person’ to replace the civil registrar who would otherwise be required to attend weddings there. Nonetheless, 120 years after this option was first introduced by the Marriage Act 1898, there are still many places of worship with no authorised person. With provisional proposals for an officiant-based system having been put forward by the Law Commission, i…
Trying to get a piece of paper from City Hall? The availability, accessibility, and administration of the register office wedding
In principle, it is possible for a couple to get married in a register office in England or Wales for £127 (including the cost of giving notice and a certificate). In this article, we draw on empirical research to show how limited this option is in practice. Its availability is constrained by the scarcity of register offices limited slots for weddings, and the addition of other fees not provided for in the regulations. Its accessibility is often …
International Child Law
This book examines the rights of the child using the global framework of the United Nations International Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989. Analysing both public and private international legal aspects, this cross-disciplinary text promotes a holistic understanding of the ongoing development of child law, children’s rights and the protection of the child. In-depth analyses of the following topic areas are included: Childhood in the digi…
Cohabitation and Religious Marriage: Status, Similarities and Solutions
In recent years, there has been a rise in both the number of cohabiting couples and those entering into religious-only marriages in England and Wales. Cohabitants are the fastest- growing relationship type, numbering 3.4 million (ONS, 2019), while up to 60 per cent of Muslim couples marrying are thought to be in religious-only marriages (True Vision, 2017). Although these relationship types are conceptually different, with the parties having dive…
From ‘non-marriage’ to ‘non-qualifying ceremony’
The landmark first instance decision in Akhter v Khan [2018] EWFC 54 was welcomed by women’s rights activists campaigning for legal recognition of religious- only marriages in England. The judgment seemed to indicate a move away from the pre-established legal position of ‘non-marriage’ occupied by those in religious-only marriages where no steps were taken to undergo a ceremony recognised under English law. Williams J pronounced a decree of nulli…
Contemporary Issues in Marriage Law and Practice in Qatar
This paper discusses changing marriage practices in modern-day Qatar, drawing on empirical data gathered in a sociolegal study involving interviews with individual citizens and residents about their marriage and family experiences, and with legal personnel and experts in family law. It presents a unique insight into evolving relationship behaviours occurring within and on the periphery of Qatar’s family-law framework in the context of its populat…
Modern Traditions in Muslim Marriage Practices, Exploring English Narratives
Marriages formed by religious ceremonies which are not legally recognized are often cited as synonymous with unregistered Muslim marriages. The conceived illegitimacy of such unions and the need for legal interventions has been raised in political discourse in the UK, as such marriages are deemed to counter women’s rights and wider legal and cultural norms. The recent independent review into the application of sharia law in England and Wales in p…
Informal Muslim Marriages: Regulations and Contestations
This special issue of the OJLR focuses on informal religious-only marriages occurring within Muslim communities in various jurisdictions with differing traditions of marriage and state regulation. It is widely accepted that religious marriages are entered by Muslims seeking to embark on a religiously lawful intimate relationship.1 In general, a religious-only marriage usually2 results in the parties not benefitting from state legal protections av…
Contextualizing Muslim Religious-Only Marriages
This special issue focuses on Muslim religious-only marriages, which are marriages not recognized by state authorities but which at least one of the parties involved considers religiously valid. The practice of informal religious marriages has manifested in different parts of the world, and such marriages have become a topic of debate and intervention. In a tripartite dynamic, state authorities are involved in attempts to regulate or criminalize …
The human right to marry: A refugee’s perspective
In the European Court of Human Rights cases of Muñoz Díaz v Spain in 2009 (Muñoz Díaz v Spain [2009], Application No. 49151/07) and Serife Yigit v Turkey in 2010 (Serife Yegit [2010], Application No. 3976/05), involving unregistered/informal ‘marriages’ of a Roma couple and a Muslim couple, respectively, the Grand Chamber took the position that civil marriages are available to all people in the state without distinction and therefore no breach of…
Contemporary Issues in Marriage Law and Practice in Qatar
This paper discusses changing marriage practices in modern-day Qatar, drawing on empirical data gathered in a sociolegal study involving interviews with individual citizens and residents about their marriage and family experiences, and with legal personnel and experts in family law. It presents a unique insight into evolving relationship behaviours occurring within and on the periphery of Qatar’s family-law framework in the context of its populat…
Contextualizing Muslim Religious-Only Marriages
This special issue focuses on Muslim religious-only marriages, which are marriages not recognized by state authorities but which at least one of the parties involved considers religiously valid. The practice of informal religious marriages has manifested in different parts of the world, and such marriages have become a topic of debate and intervention. In a tripartite dynamic, state authorities are involved in attempts to regulate or criminalize …
Modern Traditions in Muslim Marriage Practices, Exploring English Narratives
Marriages formed by religious ceremonies which are not legally recognized are often cited as synonymous with unregistered Muslim marriages. The conceived illegitimacy of such unions and the need for legal interventions has been raised in political discourse in the UK, as such marriages are deemed to counter women’s rights and wider legal and cultural norms. The recent independent review into the application of sharia law in England and Wales in p…
Informal Muslim Marriages: Regulations and Contestations
This special issue of the OJLR focuses on informal religious-only marriages occurring within Muslim communities in various jurisdictions with differing traditions of marriage and state regulation. It is widely accepted that religious marriages are entered by Muslims seeking to embark on a religiously lawful intimate relationship.1 In general, a religious-only marriage usually2 results in the parties not benefitting from state legal protections av…
Contextualizing Muslim Religious-Only Marriages
This special issue focuses on Muslim religious-only marriages, which are marriages not recognized by state authorities but which at least one of the parties involved considers religiously valid. The practice of informal religious marriages has manifested in different parts of the world, and such marriages have become a topic of debate and intervention. In a tripartite dynamic, state authorities are involved in attempts to regulate or criminalize …
The human right to marry: A refugee’s perspective
In the European Court of Human Rights cases of Muñoz Díaz v Spain in 2009 (Muñoz Díaz v Spain [2009], Application No. 49151/07) and Serife Yigit v Turkey in 2010 (Serife Yegit [2010], Application No. 3976/05), involving unregistered/informal ‘marriages’ of a Roma couple and a Muslim couple, respectively, the Grand Chamber took the position that civil marriages are available to all people in the state without distinction and therefore no breach of…
International Child Law
This book examines the rights of the child using the global framework of the United Nations International Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989. Analysing both public and private international legal aspects, this cross-disciplinary text promotes a holistic understanding of the ongoing development of child law, children’s rights and the protection of the child. In-depth analyses of the following topic areas are included: Childhood in the digi…
Cohabitation and Religious Marriage: Status, Similarities and Solutions
In recent years, there has been a rise in both the number of cohabiting couples and those entering into religious-only marriages in England and Wales. Cohabitants are the fastest- growing relationship type, numbering 3.4 million (ONS, 2019), while up to 60 per cent of Muslim couples marrying are thought to be in religious-only marriages (True Vision, 2017). Although these relationship types are conceptually different, with the parties having dive…
From ‘non-marriage’ to ‘non-qualifying ceremony’
The landmark first instance decision in Akhter v Khan [2018] EWFC 54 was welcomed by women’s rights activists campaigning for legal recognition of religious- only marriages in England. The judgment seemed to indicate a move away from the pre-established legal position of ‘non-marriage’ occupied by those in religious-only marriages where no steps were taken to undergo a ceremony recognised under English law. Williams J pronounced a decree of nulli…
Contemporary Issues in Marriage Law and Practice in Qatar
This paper discusses changing marriage practices in modern-day Qatar, drawing on empirical data gathered in a sociolegal study involving interviews with individual citizens and residents about their marriage and family experiences, and with legal personnel and experts in family law. It presents a unique insight into evolving relationship behaviours occurring within and on the periphery of Qatar’s family-law framework in the context of its populat…
The Importance of Being Authorized: The Genesis, Limitations, and Legacy of the Marriage Act 1898
Every place of worship that is registered for weddings is able to appoint its own ‘authorised person’ to replace the civil registrar who would otherwise be required to attend weddings there. Nonetheless, 120 years after this option was first introduced by the Marriage Act 1898, there are still many places of worship with no authorised person. With provisional proposals for an officiant-based system having been put forward by the Law Commission, i…
Trying to get a piece of paper from City Hall? The availability, accessibility, and administration of the register office wedding
In principle, it is possible for a couple to get married in a register office in England or Wales for £127 (including the cost of giving notice and a certificate). In this article, we draw on empirical research to show how limited this option is in practice. Its availability is constrained by the scarcity of register offices limited slots for weddings, and the addition of other fees not provided for in the regulations. Its accessibility is often …
Independent Celebrant-Led Wedding Ceremonies: Translating, Tweaking, and Innovating Traditions
This article explores ceremonial design of independent celebrant-led wedding ceremonies in England and Wales. It draws on a qualitative study which involved focus groups with celebrants and interviews with individuals who have had an independent celebrant-led wedding ceremony. Six factors are described which influenced how couples translated and tweaked traditions or innovated ceremonial elements: faith, heritage, values, kin, informality, and te…
Political science (10 works) · Law (9 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Gender Studies (7 works) · History (5 works) · Marriage and Sexual Relationships (5 works) · Law (4 works) · Ceremony (3 works) · Gender and Women's Rights (3 works) · Gender Studies (3 works)