Islamic Norms, Common Law, and Legal Reasoning: Muslim Personal Law and the Economic Consequences of Divorce in India

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 254-286
Author(s):  
Narendra Subramanian

Two major judgments of the Indian Supreme Court that awarded Muslim women alimony had very different consequences: Shah Bano (1985) evoked extensive conservative Muslim protest that led to legislation meant to limit alimony among Muslims, while Danial Latifi (2001) faced no overt opposition and was not overturned. These consequences were related to the sources and modes of reasoning used. Shah Bano independently interpreted Qurʾanic verses, suggested that commonly applicable laws may override religious law provisions, and called for uniform family laws. Danial Latifi relied solely on statutes of Indian Muslim law and Islamic norms. It thus followed the Indian state’s usual approach to personal law, which is sensitive to public preference that family life should be regulated according to religious and other cultural norms. However, public opinion provided support to change Muslim law earlier than the 1970s. More extensive changes could be introduced over the next decade in Muslim law based on Islamic norms and Muslim opinion.


2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-24
Author(s):  
Shari Golberg

My dissertation attends to the complex and very fraught relationship that women have with their sacred scriptures by examining overlapping conceptions of religious law and legal reform among Jewish and Muslim women who actively study and interpret traditional texts. My project hopes to address what it is that animates Muslim and Jewish women’s interests in textual studies and how close engagement with religious legal texts might contribute to their development as particularized religious subjects.


Author(s):  
Raelene Wilding

Digital media are transforming families and relationships. Whether these changes are best thought of as positive or negative needs to be considered within a larger context of social transformation, in which changing gender roles and labor markets, cultural norms of intimacy and relationships, and globalization and migration are also contributing to rapid changes in family life. Drawing on recent theoretical developments that emphasize family as a set of practices and digital media as simultaneously social and technological, this chapter considers the intersections of family and technology across the life course, from partnering to pregnancy and adoption to parenting, family support, and aged care. The evidence suggests a mixed impact of digital media on family life. The popularity of digital media suggests that there is a strong desire for families to remain in touch and that people use digital media to maintain strong bonds of intimacy and family connection, even when circumstances require them to live at a distance. In some cases, access to digital media is contributing to the democratization of relationships across gender, class, and age groups. At the same time, it appears that digital media are also capable of both reinforcing existing inequalities and generating new asymmetries of power. To illustrate these complex trends, examples are drawn from a rich and growing body of research on how families are using digital media around the world and with what consequences, including the experiences of migrants and refugees.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorg Sladič

Legal privilege and professional secrecy of attorneys relate to the right to a fair trial (Article 6 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)) as well as to the right to respect for private and family life (Article 8 ECHR). The reason for protecting the lawyer via fundamental rights is the protection of fundamental rights of the lawyer’s clients. All legal orders apply legal privileges and professional secrecy; however, the contents of such are not identical. Traditionally there is an important difference between common and civil law. The professional secrecy of an attorney in civil law jurisdictions is his right and at the same time his obligation based on his membership of the Bar (that is his legal profession). In common law legal privilege comprises the contents of documents issued by an attorney to the client. Professional secrecy of attorneys in civil law jurisdictions applies solely to independent lawyers; in-house lawyers are usually not allowed to benefit from rules on professional secrecy (exceptions in the Netherlands and Belgium). On the other hand, common law jurisdictions apply legal professional privilege, recognized also to in-house lawyers. Slovenian law follows the traditional civil law concept of professional secrecy and sets a limited privilege to in-house lawyers. The article then discusses Slovenian law of civil procedure and compares the position of professional secrecy in lawsuits before State’s courts and in arbitration.


2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Fatih Harpci

Having a unique intelligence and assertiveness, ‘Ā’isha has been regarded Islam’s ideal woman scholar. She was not only as one of the earliest reporters of the authentic sayings of the Prophet Muḥammad, but also a great source for conveying his private family life. The article seeks to show that ‘Ā’isha’s life in the 7th century Arabia is especially remarkable when examined through the lenses of contemporary times. Her main characteristic was her critical, ever-inquisitive, and curious mind. Through the questions she was able to ask, ‘Ā’isha became a bridge between the time of the Prophet and the contemporary Muslim life. The important role she played in the scholarly efforts of Muslim men and women in learning and teaching knowledge needs to be examined and properly emphasized. Her sound scholarship in Islamic disciplines include but was not necessarily be limited to hadith, tafsīr, fiqh, literature, and poetry. Today Muslim women may take ‘Ā’isha not only as a pious example, but follow her intelligence, curiosity, and reasoning.[Dengan kecerdasan dan kepercayaan diri yang khas, Ā’isha terkenal sebagai seorang ulama perempuan yang ideal. Tidak hanya dikenal sebagai perawi hadis, dia juga merupakan rujukan yang hebat mengenai masalah-masalah pribadi dan keluarga. Artikel ini menunjukkan bahwa kehidupa seorang Ā’isha pada abad ke-7 di Arabia sangatlah luar biasa pada masanya, dengan karakternya yang kritis, penuh rasa ingin tahu, dan bersemangat untuk mempelajari apa saja. Melalui pertanyaan yang dapat diajukan, Ā’isha mampu menjadi jembatan antara Nabi dan kehidupan umat masa itu. Peran penting yang dia mainkan dalam dunia keilmuan serta pembelajaran dan pengajaran sangat perlu diteliti dan digarisbawahi. Pandangan-pandangannya mencakup --tetapi tidak sebatas-- hadis, tafsir, fikih, sastra, dan puisi. Perempuan Islam saat ini tidak hanya dapat mengikuti Ā’isha sebagai teladan kesalihan, tetapi juga mesti mengikuti kecerdasan, keingintahuan, dan penalarannya.]


1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Vess ◽  
John Moreland ◽  
Andrew I. Schwebel

Families in which a parent has died will show a variety of reactions and recovery patterns. This article examines several factors which contribute to this variance. Within the framework of a developmental role analysis of the family system, the influence of the stage of the family life cycle, the roles of the deceased, previous patterns of role allocation, and the type of death are discussed. It is suggested that “person oriented” families, characterized by achieved roles, open communication, and flexible power structures, will more effectively reallocate family roles following the death of a spouse/parent. On contrast, “position oriented” families, characterized by ascribed roles, closed communication, and relatively inflexible power structures, will be too dependent on cultural norms and will lack the role-reallocating mechanisms necessary to ensure adequate family functioning following such a death.


Equity ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 113-151
Author(s):  
Irit Samet

This chapter challenges the argument that one of Equity’s most distinctive doctrines, fiduciary law, must be fused with a common law doctrine—the law of contract. In particular, it highlights the disadvantages of transforming the equitable duty of loyalty into an ordinary contractual obligation. The chapter first considers the ‘contractarian’ interpretation of fiduciary law according to which fiduciary duties are no more than a species of contractual obligations before explaining why, in contrast with the contractarian argument, Equity was right in claiming that the fiduciary relationship was essentially different from contract. After making the case of why fiduciary law should be treated as a sui generis equitable doctrine, the chapter examines two features of equitable fiduciary law that will change dramatically if the fusion suggestion is adopted (the language in which it is set and the way into the relationship) and shows the adverse consequences of moving in that direction. It concludes with the contention that the concept of ‘conscience’ still has an active role to play in the legal reasoning about fiduciaries.


Italy is a familistic welfare state with a traditional breadwinner regime that is slowly changing into a dual earner regime among the younger generations. The chapter investigates how the tensions among cultural norms of familism, changing laws expanding paternal rights and obligations, and narratives of active fathers affect father involvement with young children. In Italy, conceptions of the traditional and modern fathers coexist. Empirical evidence suggests that the new fathers are hesitant to emerge. While the involvement of fathers in family life is growing, commitment to caring activities depends on father’s level of education and partner’s labour market participation. Only a minority of men who are younger and who are more inclined to accept a model of masculinity that includes active fatherhood is highly engaged with their children. Institutional support is necessary to encourage more father involvement and gender egalitarianism, such as extension of compulsory and paid paternity leave, legal mechanisms to encourage fathers to take parental leave, implementation of planned educational programs designed to enhance fathering skills and to promote father involvement, and investment in research on fathers.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 280-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Wijntuin ◽  
Martijn Koster

Based on qualitative research among female Dutch-Moroccan teenagers in two underprivileged neighborhoods in the city of Utrecht, the Netherlands, this article focuses on the spatial practices of young Muslim women in public space. Compared to their male counterparts, who “hang around” in groups, female teens spend less time in public space. We focus on girls’ “wandering practices” through the neighborhood, a spatial practice structured by their search for freedom (to spend time outside the home, to talk to friends in private) and by social control (to avoid the presence of young men, to avoid being gossiped about). Our research shows that wandering both decreases their visibility and pushes against gendered cultural norms about women in public space. By analyzing their wandering as a form of social navigation, we show how these teenagers maneuver through both the physical neighborhood and the gendered cultural norms regarding appropriate behavior in public space.


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