Wanted: Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family

by Zainah Anwar (Editor)

A series of research essays laying the basis for equality in the family according to a feminist interpretation of Islamic law, compiled by an international panel of scholars with the MUSAWAH movement for equality in the Muslim family.

261 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Brian Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the great internationally collaborative products of Musawah, a global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family, which was launched in February 2009 and is headed by Zainah Anwar, one of the founders of "Sisters in Islam." The book includes insightful, useful essays by activists and researchers promoting legal reform such as Amina Wadud, Cassandra Balchin, Kamala Chandrakirana, Masud Muhammad Khalid, and Ziba Mir-Hosseini. Maybe Mir-Hosseini sums up the findings best:

"… many elements in these [traditional Islamic] laws are neither defensible on Islamic grounds nor tenable under contemporary conditions; not only are they contrary to the egalitarian spirit of Islam, they are invoked to deny Muslim women justice and dignified choices in life. … the provisions of the CEDAW [Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women] are more in line with the Shari’ah than are the provisions of family laws in many contemporary Muslim countries" (pages 24, 47). Furthermore, “Religion is way too important to be left to men.”