Islamic law, gender, and social change in post-abolition Zanzibar / Elke E. Stockreiter American University, Washington, DC.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stockreiter, Elke, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women's rights--Tanzania--Zanzibar--History--19th century.

Women's rights.

Women's rights--Tanzania--Zanzibar--History--20th century.

Civil rights--Tanzania--Zanzibar--History.

Civil rights.

Justice, Administration of (Islamic law)--Tanzania--Zanzibar--History.

Justice, Administration of (Islamic law).

Islamic law--Tanzania--Zanzibar--History.

Islamic law.

Women--Tanzania--Zanzibar--Social conditions.

Women.

Minorities--Tanzania--Zanzibar--Social conditions.

Minorities.

Zanzibar--History--1890-1964.

Zanzibar.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 279 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Other Title:

Islamic Law, Gender & Social Change in Post-Abolition Zanzibar

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

After the abolition of slavery in 1897, Islamic courts in Zanzibar (East Africa) became central institutions where former slaves negotiated socioeconomic participation. By using difficult-to-read Islamic court records in Arabic, Elke Stockreiter reassesses the workings of these courts as well as gender and social relations in Zanzibar Town during British colonial rule (1890-1963). She shows how Muslim judges maintained their autonomy within the sphere of family law and describes how they helped advance the rights of women, ex-slaves, and other marginalised groups. As was common in other parts of the Muslim world, women usually had to buy their divorce. Thus, Muslim judges played important roles as litigants negotiated moving up the social hierarchy, with ethnicisation increasingly influencing all actors. Drawing on these previously unexplored sources, this study investigates how Muslim judges both mediated and generated discourses of inclusion and exclusion based on social status rather than gender.

Contents:

Cover; Half title; Dedication; Title; Copyright; Contents; List of Figures and Tables; Preface; Glossary and Abbreviations; Introduction; Part I ; 1 The Kadhi's Courts Colonised; 2 Race and the Impartial Modern Judiciary; 3 The Kadhis and Gender; 4 Litigants and the Kadhi's Courts; 5 The Kadhis' Alienation and Autonomy; Part II ; 6 Marriage, Materialism, and Temporary Compliance; 7 Property, Debt, and Inheritance; 8 Bargaining for Divorce; Part III ; 9 The Kadhis, Ethnicity, and the Perpetuation of Master-Slave Relations; Conclusion; Appendix Distribution of Cases; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-316-25536-0

1-316-23644-7

1-316-25346-5

1-316-24968-9

1-316-25157-8

1-107-64093-8

1-316-24778-3

1-316-23455-X

1-107-26144-9