Women, Family, and Gender
in Islamic Law
by Judith E. Tucker
(Author)
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.
