United Kingdom (1999), House of Lords

United Kingdom (1999), House of Lords

Islam (A.P.) v. R. v. Immigration Appeal Tribunal and Another Ex Parte Shah (A.P.) (Conjoined Appeals)
[1999] 2 WLR 1015, [1999] 2 All ER 545 (HL)

The two conjoined appeals both involved married Pakistani women who were forced by their husbands to leave their homes and seek asylum in the UK as refugees, on the grounds that they feared being falsely accused of adultery and were thus in danger of serious injury or death on being returned to Pakistan. The Lords granted the appeals, on the ground that the appellants are part of the particular group as women in Pakistan who fear being accused of adultery.

“Given the central feature of state-tolerated and state-sanctioned gender discrimination, the argument that the appellants fear persecution not because of membership of a social group but because of the hostility of their husbands is unrealistic… the problem for both women was to specify the ‘social group’ of which they claimed their membership had given rise to persecution.” (Quoted form Original Judgment)

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