In much of the Muslim world, women’s lack of knowledge about statutory provisions and about the sources of customs and practices applied in their immediate community obstructs their ability to change their circumstances. This understanding was the basis for the women and law in the Muslim world programme of the international solidarity network, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML). Knowing Our Rights forms part of the international synthesis of the Women and Law in the Muslim World Programme and is based on some 10 years of field experience, research and analysis by multi-disciplinary teams of networkers in over 20 countries across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. These include majority and minority Muslim communities; communities which are governed by family laws based on Muslim laws and those which are subject to a general law applicable to all communities; legal systems that formally recognize customary laws, and those that do not; as well as diverse (and changing) political situations. Research on women in the family was of principal importance because it is in the family that we experience imposed definitions of gender-appropriate roles on a daily basis. Knowing Our Rights is designed as a tool for activists engaged in lobbying and advocacy related to women’s rights within the family at the policy level as well as in communities. it covers twenty-six topics relevant to marriage and divorce, including the status of children (paternity and adoption) and child custody and guardianship. Not only is it unique in providing a user-friendly, cross-comparative analysis of the diversities and commonalities of laws and customs across the Muslim world, it is also the first handbook to attempt to rank laws in Muslim communities in terms of whether they are more or less option-giving for women, analyzed from a rights perspective and the realities of women’s lives. This handbook is an essential resource for those taking a critical and questioning approach to rights, laws, and constructions of womanhood in Muslim countries and communities and beyond.
There are no reviews yet.