The Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) believes polygamy is inherently harmful to women and children

Written by Canadian Council of Muslim Women

Published in News

Sabha Sajjad-Hazai, a lawyer practicing in Ontario and a member of the national board of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, was interviewed in CBC's The Fifth Estate episode Polygamy in Canada: An Open Secret and states the following:

"Polygamy is against the Canadian Criminal Code, yet some imams are openly willing to do it for men who want second wives, including one of the most prominent imams in the country."

“It is up to the law makers and it is up to the courts now. How do they want to address polygamy? Are they going to start looking at enforcing the law? Are there going to be criminal prosecutions? Are there going to be convictions? Can you call the police and say, ‘My husband is in a second marriage, please charge him for it?’”

The Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) believes polygamy is based on the values of tribal patriarchy and is inherently harmful to women and children. We supported the decision of Justice Bauman of the B.C. Supreme Court to uphold the ban on polygamy. For our full position paper on polygamy, please click here.

CCMW's current national project is aimed at educating, supporting and developing resources for Muslim women navigating family law issues such as polygamy, divorce, spousal support, and property division. To learn more and to get involved, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Canadian Council of Muslim Women

The story of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) begins in 1982 when a group of dynamic and devoted Muslim women from across the country congregated in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Led by the late founder of CCMW, Dr. Lila Fahlman, these women sought to mobilize their passion for social justice and faith in order to enrich their communities and work towards the common good of Canadian society.

This inaugural meeting led to the establishment of CCMW, a not-for-profit organization that works to provide equity, equality and empowerment for all Canadian Muslim women. For the past 30 years, its proud and accomplished roster of members have achieved and continue to achieve great milestones for Muslim women and Canada’s multicultural landscape. As a highly diverse organization, CCMW is firmly committed to the overarching vision of improving the status of Muslim women to remain true to their Islamic heritage and Canadian identity.