Women and Muslim family laws in Arab states : a comparative overview of textual development and advocacy / Lynn Welchman.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Welchman, Lynn.

George R. Fink Memorial Fund.

Series:

ISIM series on contemporary Muslim societies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Domestic relations (Islamic law).

Women (Islamic law).

Domestic relations--Islamic countries.

Domestic relations.

Women--Legal status, laws, etc--Islamic countries.

Women.

Muslim women--Legal status, laws, etc.

Muslim women.

Women--Legal status, laws, etc.

Islamic countries.

Physical Description:

254 pages ; 24 cm.

Other Title:

Muslim family laws in Arab states

Place of Publication:

[Amsterdam] : Amsterdam University Press, [2007]

Summary:

Women and Muslim Family Laws in Arab States: A Comparative Overview of Textual Development and Advocacy combines an examination of women's rights in Muslim family law in Arab states from the Gulf to North Africa with discussions of the public debates surrounding the issues that are raised in processes of codification and amendment. A number of states have recently either codified Muslim family law, or have issued significant amendments or new laws on the subject. This study considers these new laws along with older statutes to comment on patterns and dynamics of change both in the texts of the laws, and in the processes by which they are drafted and issued. It draws on original legal texts as well as on extensive secondary literature for an insight into practice; interventions by women's rights organisations and other parties are drawn on to identify areas of the laws that remain contested. The discussions are set in the contemporary global context that internationalises the domestic and regional discussions.

Contents:

2 Codification of Muslim Personal Status Law in Arab States: principle and processes 19

Current debates: Bahrain and Iraq 22

Legislation, judicial discretion and political process 26

3 Arab State Codifications and Women's Rights Advocacy in the Third Phase of Family Law Reform 33

International law and Muslim family law 34

Women's rights advocacy 37

Recent legislative developments 40

4 Shar'i Postulates, Statutory Law and the Judiciary 45

Tunisia and the shar'i postulate 46

Judicial interpretation and legislative direction 48

5 Registration Requirements 53

Unregistered and 'urfi marriage 56

6 Capacity and Consent 61

Minimum age of marriage 62

The Jordanian debate on raising the minimum age of capacity for marriage 65

Guardianship in marriage 68

The role of the guardian 72

7 Polygyny 77

Constraints on polygyny in contemporary legislation 78

Lawful benefit and financial capacity 79

Notification requirements and consent of the wife 81

Divorce options and validity issues 83

8 The Marical Relationship 89

Dower 90

Maintenance and obedience 93

Special stipulations in the marriage contract 99

Misyar marriage 102

9 Divorce 107

Statutory approaches to unilateral talaq and judicial divorce 107

Judicial khul' in Egypt 112

Judicial khul' in Jordan 116

Other approaches to judicial khul' 119

Divorce as a judicial process 122

Compensation 125

Post-divorce rights to the marital home 130

10 Parents and Children 133

Period of custody 134

Allocation of custody 137

Paternity and adoption 142

List of Statutes Cited 157

Selected Statutory Provisions 161

1 Marriage Guardianship and Capacity 161

2 Polygyny 167

3 The Marital Relationship 170

4 Stipulations 180

5 Judicial Khul' and comparable divorce provisions 184

6 Compensation for injurious/arbitrary divorce 187.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references ( pages 233-242) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George R. Fink Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

9789053569740

905356974X

OCLC:

144661757