Studies of gender in Islamic law combine methodologies from two distinct fields of study: Islamic law, and women and gender. While Western scholarly study of Islamic law began in earnest during the era of Orientalist scholarship (late 19th through mid-20th centuries), focusing largely on questions of origins and mechanics, particularly outlining rules and regulations and the rights and duties of various groups of people, the application of women and gender methodologies to Islamic law dates to the 1980s, with substantial work beginning in the 1990s. Since then, the field has expanded to include case studies of different times, places, and variations between law schools (madhhabs), comparative analyses, and attention to contemporary reform efforts, particularly in family law.
