Family law

Bahrain: Advocacy for Divorced Women's Rights

A CAMPAIGN is being stepped up to ensure that women in Bahrain emerge from divorce with alimony, rightful custody of their children and a roof over their heads. A Bahrain society is calling for law reforms and practical strategies to ensure divorced women their rights, without agonising court battles. Bahrain Women's Association for Human Development wants legislation and society to reflect the Quranic concept of divorce, which states a wife either be returned to her husband or "released (divorced) in kindness".

Mali: The wedding dress with attitude

Malians do a good line in combining fashion and public relations for the causes they care about. Fatoumata and Moussa didn’t just decide to get married under Mali’s new family code, they got married in it – literally. The bride, groom and wedding guests at the September ceremony in Bamako all wore colourful traditional Malian boubous and pagnes, printed in browns and greens with key words from the new Code about mutual love, support and fidelity: “affection mutuelle”, “soutien mutuel”, “fidélité mutuelle”, proclaimed the wedding dress.

The WLUML interview : Ziba Mir-Hosseini

Ziba Mir-Hosseini is an anthropologist by training who has been working on Islamic Family Law for the past 25 years. In this audio interview, Mir-Hosseini explains how, for her, feminism in a Muslim context is struggling for justice, standing up against discrimination and having the ability to make dignified choices in life. Director of the documentary film, "Divorce Iranian Style" (1998), Mir-Hosseini says that the research she did for the film was part of a wider project on the application of family law in Iran and Morocco, which came out as a book in 1993.

Maroc: Les marocains évaluent les progrès de la Moudawana

Le Roi Mohammed VI avait, l’année dernière, décrété le 10 octobre Journée Nationale de la Femme en commémoration de l'anniversaire de la réforme du Code de la Famille. Mais, après plus de cinq ans d’application de la Moudawana, les opinions sont encore partagées sur le fait de savoir si ce nouveau Code est parvenu ou non à atteindre ses nobles intentions.

2004 Moroccan Family Law (Moudawana)

This unofficial English translation of the 2004 Moroccan Family Law (Moudawana) was prepared by a team of English and Arabic speaking lawyers at the Global Rights head office in Washington D.C. and their field office in Rabat, and a professional Arabic-English Moroccan translator.

Mali: New Family Law blocked

The president of Mali has announced that he is not going to sign the country's new family law, instead returning it to parliament for review. Muslim groups have been protesting against the law, which gives greater rights to women, ever since parliament adopted it at the start of the month. President Amadou Toumani Toure said he was sending the law back for the sake of national unity. Muslim leaders have called the law the work of the devil and against Islam.

Nepal: Country Code (eleventh amendment) bill and women's rights

In Nepal, customs, social systems and state made laws discriminate against women.

Egypt: What price freedom?

Two years ago, women were granted the right to instigate unilateral khul' divorce. It was supposed to change the face of Egyptian family life. However the results, Mariz Tadros discovers, have confounded all predictions.

Turkey: New civil code ensures equality in the family

The reform of the civil code, for which the women's movement in Turkey has been lobbying for many years, has been finally accepted by the Turkish Parliament.