Women, Family, and Gender in Islamic Law

An exploration of Islamic law from the perspective of women and gender.

Judith E. Tucker (Author)

9780521537476, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 16 October 2008

268 pages, 2 maps
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.44 kg

'Clearly conceptualized, admirably researched and lucidly written, Judth Tucker's survey of Islamic legal thought and practice relating to women, gender and the family builds on two decades of monographic studies on pre-modern Muslim courts and more recent legislative reforms … In doing so, it provides an essential resource for considering how major doctrines have intersected and combined to shape Muslim women's lives through history and into the present.' Journal of the American Oriental Society

In what ways has Islamic law discriminated against women and privileged men? What rights and power have been accorded to Muslim women, and how have they used the legal system to enhance their social and economic position? In an analysis of Islamic law through the prism of gender, Judith Tucker tackles these complex questions relating to the position of women in Islamic society, and to the ways in which the legal system impacted on the family, property rights, space and sexuality, from classical and medieval times to the present. Working with concepts drawn from feminist legal theory and by using particular cases to illustrate her arguments, the author systematically addresses questions of discrimination and expectation - what did men expect of their womenfolk - and of how the language of the law contributed to that discrimination, infecting the system and all those who participated in it.

1. Introduction
2. Woman as wife and man as husband: making the marital bargain
3. Woman and man as divorced: asserting rights
4. Woman and man as legal subjects: managing and testifying
5. Woman and man in gendered space: submitting.

Subject Areas: Islamic law [LAFS], Gender studies: women [JFSJ1], Islam [HRH], Middle Eastern history [HBJF1], General & world history [HBG]