Gender, Islam, and Law

Abstract

This chapter considers arguments about Islam and women’s welfare, and, at greater length, how legal systems with Islamic elements treat women, focusing on how women fare in Islamic family courts. Key methodological issues include how to focus on real-world views and practices rather than only texts, disentangle the effects of patriarchal regional cultures from the effects of Islamic law, and compare the gendered effects of Islamic court practices with local alternatives. The Islamic legal tradition features both a broadly shared set of texts and traditions and a wide array of interpretations and practices. From the very beginning of Islam, rulers and judges developed new ways of applying the traditions to changing situations. Many of these new applications involved ways to grant women greater autonomy. The chapter looks in greater detail at three countries—Tunisia, Indonesia, and Iran—to detect probable mechanisms shaping women’s access to divorce and to property.