Contours of Change : Muslim Courts, Women, and Islamic Society in Colonial Bathurst, the Gambia, 1905-1965 / Bala Saho.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Saho, Bala SK., author.

Series:

African history and culture.

African history and culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Muslims--Gambia--Social conditions--20th century.

Muslims.

Marriage law--Gambia--History--20th century.

Marriage law.

Marriage (Islamic law)--Gambia--History--20th century.

Marriage (Islamic law).

Muslim women--Gambia--Social conditions--20th century.

Muslim women.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

East Lansing : Michigan State University Press, 2018.

Summary:

Based on a previously unexamined body of qadi court records as well as two hundred oral interviews in Wolof and Mandinka, Contours of Change: Muslim Courts, Women, and Islamic Society in Colonial Bathurst, the Gambia, 1905-1965 , offers a new perspective on the impact of British rule in West Africa. It focuses on the formation of present-day Banjul and the role of law, religion, and gender relations. Specifically, this volume explores how colonization affected the evolution of women's understanding of the importance of law in securing their rights, and how urban women used the new qadi court system to fight for greater rights in the domestic sphere. The fascinating cases discussed in the text show that male Muslim judges often were sympathetic to women's claims, and that, as a result, the qadi court created opportunities for women to acquire property rights and negotiate patriarchal relationships. Contours of Change sheds light on African subjectivities and the broader social, economic, and political changes taking place in colonial Gambian society during the first half of the twentieth century. This text breaks new ground in Senegambian history and makes a significant contribution to British colonial studies, African legal studies, Islam in Africa studies, and women's history studies.

Contents:

Advent of colonial rule: shaping the legal landscape

Changing traditions and marriage laws: seeyi, lu ko taka, tasul ko (divorce is more complicated than consummation of marriage)

Making the city: the Gambia colony and the Protectorate, 1816-1965

Qadi court: crisis of legitimization

Qadis, complainants, and settlements: case studies.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-62895-317-9

1-60917-549-2

OCLC:

1007930318