scholarly journals "Talk to my father": re-thinking social exclusion and access to justice in the context of bridewealth negotiation

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (spe) ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Jane C Diala

Broadly, the concept of social exclusion denotes a condition in which peopie are unabie to voice their opinion freeiy and fuiiy in matters affecting their iives. It often manifests as unequai respect for, and protection of people's rights based on gender, age, race, and simiiar demographics. Sociai inciusion has become a concern for poiicy deveiopment and impiementation, particuiariy in cuiturai matters, where tensions often arise between traditionai norms and universaiist State iaws. In this context, brideweaith payment in Southern Nigeria presents an intriguing iens for examining social exclusion. Here, women's exciusion from their own brideweaith negotiation iiiustrates the interpiay of agency and unequai power reiations, two twin elements that affect access to justice and policy development. So, in what ways does women's exclusion from bridewealth negotiation broaden understanding of access to justice and development programming? This article argues that women's cultural exclusion from bridewealth negotiation hinders their agency in marriage under customary law. Using data obtained from Southern Nigeria in 2016, it shows how the sustenance of social exclusion stands at the intersection of law, culture, and justice.

Author(s):  
Fatahuddin Aziz Siregar

The South Tapanuli community adopts a patrilineal kinship system so that women do not get inheritance, even if there is acquisition of property, women receive it not in their capacity as heirs but in the form of holong ni ate as confirmed in the Supreme Court Jurisprudence number 506K / Sip / 1968 dated January 22, 1969 However, on the other hand the Tapsel community underwent a process of Islamization that was quite deep, so that the customary law of South Tapanuli was also influenced by positive law including Jurisprudence which gave heir to girls later issued by the Supreme Court number 528K / Sip / 1972 dated 17 January 1973. This rule makes the practice of distributing the assets of Tapsel's community inheritance also shifts no longer according to the full provisions of adat law.This paper focuses on answering the factors that cause the shift in Batak customary inheritance in Tapsel, how the form of Batak adat inheritance shifts in Tapsel, and how the role of Islamic law in the shifting Batak customary inheritance in Tapsel. To answer this, use descriptive-analytical field research using data collection techniques in the form of observations and interviews with traditional leaders, religious leaders, judges and the community who carry out the distribution of inheritance.From this search, the authors found that the practice of inheritance in Tapsel society has shifted from adat inheritance caused by two factors, namely, First, the factor of Islamic law because Tapsel people have understood Islam well and run it in various fields of life including in the distribution of inheritance. Given that there are dozens of Islamic education institutions in Tapsel according to the author has given a pretty good understanding of Islamic law. So in general it can be said, that this change is a consequence of the Islamization process experienced by the Tapsel people. Second, is the factor of higher power or positive law because until now the community still believes that only the Religious Courts as a place to solve the problem of inheritance to obtain legal certainty.The shift to adat inheritance occurs in several patterns. The first pattern is a total change from customary form to division according to faraid, this pattern occurs in areas that are fairly Islamic, namely the Mandailing Natal region, although of course there are some people who divide in a way that is not consistent in carrying out Islamic law. The second pattern is to carry out adat law, namely in communities that are relatively strict with adat, namely in the Padang Lawas and Sipirok regions, in this area many cases seem to have carried out faraid formally but the substance still reflects the spirit of adat law. The third pattern, namely the way of division which is a combination of Islamic law and customary law, which is a fairly moderate community in the Angkola region.Islamic law has contributed by shifting the implementation of customary law to Islamic law. People who according to customary law do not receive inheritance become heirs who receive a certain portion. At first the mother did not count as an heir, then given a part 1/3 or 1/6. Istdri initially did not get any portion of the inheritance then received 1/4 or 1/8. Girls initially only have the status of olong ate, then receive a relatively large portion, which is 1/2 or 2/3.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony C Diala ◽  
Jane C Diala

ABSTRACT The fate of marriage gifts during a customary law divorce is significant for the interaction of legal orders in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in the context of scholars' fixation with conflict of laws. In analysing this fatet, this article introduces normative intersectionality as a theoretical framework for a nuanced understanding of how laws and socio-economic forces interact in post-colonial settings. Normative intersectionality rejects a legal positivist view of rights, which neglects people's adaptation of indigenous norms to socioeconomic changes. In this sense, normative intersectionality is useful for addressing the traditional Igbo law of matrimonial property, which regards a married woman's property rights as subsumed in her husband's rights. Using the division of marriage gifts in Southern Nigeria as a case study, the article draws attention to how legal orders speak to, rather than against, each other, and in so doing, stresses the adaptive character of indigenous laws. It argues that normative intersectionality illumines the interplay of gender equality, property rights and legal pluralism. Accordingly, it urges judges to use the imitative nature of legal pluralism in post-colonial settings to remedy entrenched systems of injustice and inequality, which often hide under the banner of tradition. Keywords: Adaptive legal pluralism, marriage gifts, African customary law, matrimonial property rights.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Juan Vázquez ◽  
Sonia Panadero ◽  
Isabel Pascual

Abstract People in homeless situation are one of the major embodiments of the phenomenon of social exclusion, and women living homeless are considered a particularly vulnerable group. This paper examines different variables that may affect the situation of vulnerability experienced by women living homeless in Madrid (Spain). The study was carried out using data obtained from a representative sample of homeless men in Madrid (n = 158) and a sample of homeless women in Madrid of a similar size (n = 138). The information was gathered using a structured interview in shelters or other facilities for people in a homeless situation, on the street and in other places not initially designed for sleeping. The results show that woman living homeless are highly vulnerable compared to the domiciled population and, in some respects, to homeless men as well, especially in the number of times homeless (χ2 = 10.314; p < .01), in the time working with a contract and/or self-employed (t = 5.754; p < .001), and in the use of sedatives (χ2= 14.741; p < .001). It is however noted that homeless women show in some aspects greater strengths than homeless men. Such strengths could serve as a supporting point for their social inclusion processes. The analysis of issues that differentiate women in a homeless situation from their male counterparts could be useful for developing public policies and care resources adapted to the specific characteristics and needs of women living homeless.


Author(s):  
Isabele de Matos Pereira de Mello

In early modern societies, the duty of enforcing justice was one of the principal tasks of the monarch. Judicial power could be exercised both directly by the monarch—the supreme magistrate—or by those he delegated it to—judges or his courts. In the vast territory of Portuguese America, different institutions were created to ensure access to justice, to help govern the people, to assist in long-distance administration, and to maintain control over the crown’s dominions. Ouvidorias-gerais, judges, and courts were established with their own institutional officials, intermixing lower- and higher-level jurisdictions and exercising justice over distinct territorial spaces. To understand the functioning of judicial institutions in colonial society, it is important to analyze the universe of magistrates, their careers, judicial practices, and complex relations in the social environment. Magistrates, as an important professional group recruited by the Portuguese monarchy, had multiple overseas possibilities. They could serve at the same time as representatives of royal power and allies of local groups. These men faced a colonial reality that allowed them a wide sphere of action, the exercise of a differentiated authority, and a privileged position as intermediaries between local elites and the king. Even though all magistrates were subject to the same rules of selection, recruitment, appointment, and promotion, the exercise of justice in the slaveholding society of Portuguese America demanded a great capacity for adaptation and negotiation, for the application of law in the mosaic of local judicial situations. Magistrates circulated in different spaces, creating and working in different judicial institutions in the difficult balance between theory and practice, between written law and customary law.


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wesley Key ◽  
Martin Culliney

This article examines whether people aged eighty-five-and-over, referred to throughout as ‘The Oldest Old’, are more likely to suffer from social exclusion than people aged sixty-five to eighty-four. Social Exclusion is defined according to the four dimensions identified in the 1999 Poverty and Social Exclusion Survey. Using data from Understanding Society, the analysis finds that the Oldest Old have a higher likelihood of experiencing social exclusion than people aged sixty-five to eighty-four. These findings illustrate the risks facing the Oldest Old, and highlight the policy challenges presented by ageing western populations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (spe) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Madikgomo More

The purpose of the article was to explore the roles and functions of the institution of traditional authority in contributing to access to justice or providing a form of justice through the preservation of customary law to the people of the Okombahe community in the Erongo Region of Namibia. The article's aim was to investigate the factors that have contributed to the institution's resilience and how this resilience may be tied to the type of justice this customary institution provides and represents. The institution of traditional authority has recently caught the attention of both scholars and policymakers due to the increasing return or revival of this "ancient" form of governance in the contemporary era that is constantly changing its procedures and rules of appointment to adapt to contemporary concerns and social problems. The scope of traditional leaders' jurisdiction and power is defined in the roles and functions they fulfil. As a popular legitimate informal institution in Okombahe, traditional leaders were found to manage and resolve conflict, and to preserve communal identity, unity, and continuity. This article highlights the significance of the institution of traditional authority as a legitimate customary institution originating from the bottom-up, and as a system that can be complementary to democracy as opposed to the assumption sometimes held that it is contesting with it. In Okombahe, the institution of traditional authority was found to contribute to providing an accessible justice system option grounded in this community's identity, history and social norms. The data collection employed for this qualitative case study of Okombahe consisted of interviews, supporting documents, and relevant scientific articles.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Lidwina Inge Nurtjahyo

<p>The Draft of the Indonesian Criminal Code has provoked a debate, especially with regard to the articles under the scope of decency. The formulation of Article 488 has the potential to create new problems for women. Especially women who have obstacles in accessing legal identity. This Article 488 is a reflection of the failure of jurists to formulate laws, in understanding women's experience in relation to their access to the right to obtain legal identity, especially in the context of relationship. The criminal law is not the answer to all problems. This paper is compiled using data obtained from field study related to the handling of cases of violence against women under customary law, carried out by the authors and the team from Legal and Community Studies Fields in 2015, 2016 and 2017 in Eastern Indonesia; as well as data on legal and non-legal text analysis. The overall method and analysis of research findings using feminist legal studies and feminist legal theories.</p>


2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saba Siddiki ◽  
Shilpi Goel

Administrators and policymakers increasingly rely on collaborative policymaking groups to inform policy development. While this trend is observed in a wide array of policy domains, it is particularly common in the regulation of natural resource-based industries which requires the simultaneous consideration of an interrelated set of economic, technical, and social factors. In this article, we examine outcomes associated with collaborative policymaking groups involved in informing state aquaculture policy, referred to herein as aquaculture partnerships. We define outcomes here as consequences on relevant contextual conditions (social, political, and environmental) that follow from the work or design of collaborative processes. Using data collected through an online survey of partnership participants ( n = 123), we examine individual and procedural factors that significantly associate with partnerships’ positive or negative influence on a set of policy and social outcomes, as perceived by their participants. Overall, we find that participants’ ability to mobilize scientific and technical resources to achieve group objectives, perceptions of procedural fairness, and individual-level learning are all positively associated with partnership influence on policy and/or social outcomes. We conclude our article by highlighting the value of this research for both scholars and practitioners interested in better understanding collaborative group dynamics and outcomes relating thereto.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Moher ◽  
Mehru Ali

This study examines the impacts of a musical social theatre program entitled Stories, Unsung. The findings are based on the experiences of one group who participated in this program in Calgary, AB (N=8). This study uses a grounded theory and design to explore how useful musical social theatre can be in reducing the social exclusion of marginalized people. Findings indicate two factors are critical in enhancing the social inclusion of those who are isolated: 1) a change in understanding of self and 2) a change in the relationships with others. Stories, Unsung was successful in changing the participants understanding of self and others both critical elements in removing the barriers associated with social exclusion. It is recommended that practitioners working with families in family support programs consider musical social theatre as an effective strategy to engage those families who are socially excluded. Implications for future policy development and research are discussed.


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