Women's Rights and Islamic Family Law: Perspectives on Reform - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1842770950 ISBN 13: 9781842770955

Publisher: Zed Books, 2004

Synopsis

This volume explores the present-day realities of Islamic family law, with particular emphasis on the rights of women. Three contrasting country cases have been selected: Egypt, the most populous Arab state with a constitutional clause on the place of "principles of the shari`a" as the principal source of legislation; the West Bank and Gaza, family law here being a contested site between different visions of national identity in the process of trying to build a Palestinian state; and the United States, where some in the minority Muslim communities seek to regulate their family relations in accordance with "principles of the shari`a" within the context of a non-Muslim state applying civil law requirements to all family matters. A concluding study ranges further afield in order to explore the challenges and potential of "principles of shari`a" in advocacy on the question of violence against women.

About this title

About the Author:

Lynn Welchman is Director of the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

Review:

'...a useful and coherent collection.' Journal of Middle East Women's Studies

About this edition

• Publisher: Zed Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1842770950
• ISBN 13: 9781842770955
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 300
• Editor: Welchman Lynn