WUNRN
ADVANCING WOMEN'S RIGHTS THROUGH
ISLAMIC LAW: EXAMPLE OF MOROCCO
- McGill University Centre for Human
Rights and Legal Pluralism
February 24, 2012
Berkeley
Journal of Gender, Law & Justice, Vol. 27, No. 2, 2012
Registration may be asked to
download full article.
Abstract:
This article discusses the
challenges and opportunities for advancing women’s rights through Islamic law
using contemporary Morocco as a case study. Part I provides an overview of
women’s rights in Morocco including the historic 2004 Mudawana (Code of
Personal Status) reforms. Part II discusses the social roles, cultural representations,
and socioeconomic realities of Moroccan women, emphasizing the important role
that Moroccan women have played in legal and social reform efforts through
their participation in civil society. Part III discusses several legal
strategies for advancing women’s rights in Islamic states and assesses the
strengths, weaknesses, and likely success of each approach. These strategies
include implementing international law and secular reform, utilizing the
Moroccan legislative process, reinterpreting the Qur’an and the hadith (the two
primary sources of Islamic law), exercising ijtihad (resolving an Islamic legal
issue through personal thought and reflection), and contesting the development
of Shari’a. Part IV outlines the most promising strategy for advancing women’s
rights in Islamic states. This final Part discusses failed reform strategies,
outlines an effective reform strategy, and concludes that women’s rights are
largely compatible with Shari’a provided the right social and political
conditions exist.