scholarly journals From the Liberation of Women to the Liberation of Men? A Century of Family Law Reform in Egypt

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-104
Author(s):  
Nadia Sonneveld

To what extent have notions of manhood and womanhood as incorporated in Egyptian Muslim family law changed over the course of almost a century of family law reforms, and why? In answering this question, I draw on the works of two Egyptian intellectuals, Qasim Amin and Azza Heikal, because they discussed ideas about manhood and womanhood in relation to Islamic religion and authoritarian rule. My analysis shows that there is a dire need within studies on gender in the Middle East to assess the effectiveness of family law reform on both women’s and men’s agency. After all, when an authoritarian government introduces legislation that enhances women’s legal rights with regard to the family but does not reform men’s legal rights inside that same family, it is not surprising that when political oppression ends, disenfranchised men will try to abolish the laws that expanded their wives’ freedom and curtailed theirs.

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 449-479
Author(s):  
Sridevi Thambapillay

The Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 (LRA) which was passed in 1976 and came into force on 1st March 1982, standardized the laws concerning non-Muslim family matters. Many family issues concerning non-Muslim have emerged ever since, the most important being the effects of unilateral conversion to Islam by one of the parties to the marriage. There has been a lot of public hue and cry for amendments to be made to the LRA. After much deliberation, the Malaysian Parliament finally passed the amendments to the LRA in October 2017, which came into force in December 2018. Although the amendments have addressed selected family law issues, the most important amendment on child custody in a unilateral conversion to Islam was dropped from the Bill at the last minute. Howsoever, at the end of the day, the real question that needs to be addressed is whether the amendments have resolved the major issues that have arisen over the past four decades? Hence, the purpose of this article is as follows: first, to examine the brief background to the passing of the LRA, secondly, to analyse the 2017 amendments, thirdly, to identify the weaknesses that still exist in the LRA, and finally, to suggest recommendations to overcome these weaknesses by comparing the Malaysian position with the Singaporean position. In conclusion, it is submitted that despite the recent amendments to the LRA, much needs to be done to overcome all the remaining issues that have still not been addressed.


2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Stilt ◽  
Swathi Gandhavadi Griffin
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-108
Author(s):  
Nurinayah Nurinayah

The application of family law in Muslim-majority countries, especially the Middle East and its surroundings, has different practices, we do not find uniformity in family law practices in these countries. This is influenced by differences in government systems, cultures, situations and conditions of society of each country. Egypt is one of the predominantly Muslim countries which has established Islam as the state religion. Therefore, the principles of Islamic law are the main source of law in the making and formulation of laws, including family law. The practice of Islamic law in Egypt does not fully apply only to areas of family law in a limited scope including the distribution of inheritance and marriage. However, the application of family law in Egypt continues to undergo reforms and reforms. Family law reform took place in Egypt in 1920. This was marked by the promulgation of Law no. 25/1920 regarding family law and care (Law of Maintenance and Personal Status / Qanun al-Ahwal al-Syakhsiyyah wa al-Siyanah). Family law reform in the 1970s was marked by the issuance of laws regarding the authority to the judiciary to force parties (husbands) to pay maintenance fees to wives, widows, children, or parents in 1976. the current era of family law in Egypt continues to experience development. Abstrak Penerapan hukum keluarga di negara-negara yang berpenduduk mayoritas Muslim khususnya kawasan Timur Tengah dan sekitarnya memiliki praktik yang berbeda-beda, kita tidak menemukan keseragaman praktik hukum keluarga di negara-negara tersebut. Hal ini dipengaruhi oleh perbedaan sistem pemerintahan, kultur, situasi dan kondisi masyarakat setiap negara. Mesir merupakan salah satu negara yang berpenduduk mayoritas Muslim yang menetapkan Islam sebagai agama negara. Karena itu, prinsip-prinsip hukum Islam menjadi sumber hukum utama dalam pembuatan dan perumusan undang-undang termasuk hukum keluarga. Praktik hukum Islam di Mesir tidak berlaku secara utuh hanya bidang-bidang hukum keluarga dalam ruang lingkup yang terbatas meliputi pembagian warisan dan perkawinan.  Namun, penerapan hukum keluarga di Mesir terus mengalami reformasi dan pembaruan. Pembaruan hukum keluarga terjadi di Mesir pada tahun 1920. Ini ditandai dengan diundangkannya UU No. 25/1920 mengenai hukum keluarga dan penjagaan (Law of Maintenance and Personal Status/Qanun al-Ahwal al-Syakhsiyyah wa al-Siyanah). Reformasi hukum keluarga pada tahun 1970an ditandai dengan dikeluarkannya aturan undang-undang mengenai kewenangan kepada lembaga peradilan memaksa pihak-pihak (suami) untuk membayar uang pemeliharaan kepada isteri-isteri, janda-janda, anak-anak, ataupun orang tua pada tahun 1976. Hingga era sekarang hukum keluarga di Mesir terus mengalami perkembangan.            


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Sonneveld ◽  
Monika Lindbekk

In the weeks following the Egyptian revolution of 2011, a group of divorced fathersrose to demand a “revolution in family law.” Portraying extant family law provisions assymbolic of the old regime and as deviating from the principles of shariʿa, their call was givenprominent media attention and, in the ensuing transitional period (2011 to 2013), women’srights and family law emerged as contentious areas in Egypt.By comparing public debates on family law reform in the decade preceding the 2011revolution to the two years following it, we argue that Egypt’s “revolution in family law”actually started a decade earlier, in 2000, when Egyptian women’s new right to divorceunilaterally rocked the country.1 This set in motion other legal reforms that challengedfundamental aspects of male authority in the family and slowly led to the emergence ofinnovative conceptions of motherhood and fatherhood.


ICR Journal ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-52
Author(s):  
Mohammad Hashim Kamali

This Special Issue of Islam and Civilisational Renewal carries selected papers from the ‘International Conference on the Family Institution in the Twenty-First Century: Ideals and Realities’, held at IAIS Malaysia on 13-14 December 2010. The event was jointly organised by IAIS Malaysia, the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM), Yayasan Pendidikan Islam (YPI), Yayasan Ubaidi, the Journalists and Writers Foundation, Istanbul, Turkey, the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), and the Malaysian Turkish Dialogue Society, and officiated by Senator Dato, Sri Sharizat Abdul Jalil, Malaysia’s Minister of Women, Family and Community Development.  


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda Fehlberg ◽  
Lisa Sarmas ◽  
Jenny Morgan

In this paper, we identify the influence of formal equality—and more specifically, formal gender equality (that is, treating men and women the same)—in central areas of major Australian family law reform over the past 20 years. Given the influence of formal equality and our concerns regarding this trend, we consider whether equality-based arguments should be abandoned entirely, at least in the family law context, and explore alternative approaches that could reframe the debate.


Author(s):  
Hashem Mohammed Saleh Kutbi

This study Aimed at Recognition of the educational role of Muslim women in the Prophet's civil era; in the political, moral and social aspects. And Submission of educational applications of the Muslim family derived from the educational role of the Muslim women in the Prophet's civil era. The study used deductive approach. The most significant results of the study: - The Islamic religion concerned on raising Muslim women religiously, intellectually and behaviorally, and preparing them to fulfill their mission and duties towards their husbands, children and community. - Muslim women in the Prophet's civil era had several contributions and participations in the political, religious, ethical, social and scientific aspects. - The possibility of finding educational applications, which can be applied in the today's reality of the Muslim family, getting benefit from the educational role that the Muslim women presented in the Prophet's civil era. The recommendations of the study: - The significance of paying more attention to the biography of the female companions- God blesses them-, and to benefit from that in the family, and educational institutions. - The establishment of research chairs that support the concern on Muslim woman's issues, and link them to the biography of her ancestors. - Establishments of conferences and seminars that discuss about Muslim women in the Prophet's civil era, and translation of researches to several languages.  


Hawwa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 117-142
Author(s):  
Susanne Dahlgren ◽  
Monika Lindbekk

Abstract This article focuses on adjudication of Muslim family law in countries that range from the Middle East and North Africa to South-East Asia. It begins by shortly summarizing the development of shari‘a in pre-modern times, up until the 19th century. We discuss the basic features of marriage among classical jurists and argue that the close connection known today between the family and Islamic law can be traced to the emergence of modern nation states and centralizing state structures. We then provide a description of important personal status reforms during the 20th and 21st centuries and consider the growing body of scholarship that engages with adjudication of Muslim family law in action and in context. Finally, we consider the contribution that the articles contained in the special double issue make to the field of research, including the questions of gender and judicial authority, religion-based judicial activism, and the courts’ involvement in larger socio-political processes.


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