The Legal Status of Muslim Women in Turkestan: on the Divorce Process (Late 19th-Early 20th Centuries)

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to study the legal status of Turkestan’s Muslim women before, during, and after the transition to Russian Imperial rule. In particular, it will analyze changes to the rights of women in the divorce process and in widowhood over this period. Through examination of various cases concerning family practices among sedentary and nomadic people over time, the author argues that Muslim women retained financial and other rights in divorce proceedings typical of the pre-Imperial period, and extending into the period of Imperial rule. This article further argues that Muslim women had the continuing right to demand a divorce if their husbands would not comply with the terms of their marriage contracts. Also, Muslim women could claim financial support from their husbands after divorce in the period of the Russian empire as in the period of the Central Asian khanates.