The recent spate of splits in the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has come as a rude shock to the ‘ulama on the Board who had arrogated to themselves the right to speak on behalf of the 150 million or more Muslims in India.
The report released in December 2004 recommending the use of sharia law in Islamic family disputes in Ontario should send a shiver down the spines of women across the country.
In its first-ever report on personal status laws, Human Rights Watch (HRW) paints a bleak picture of women suffering under Egypt's divorce system. Gihan Shahine (Al Ahram Weekly) reviews the report and asks its author, Farida Deif, some tough questions.
At least 200 Muslim women from Debang VDC in Parsa district who were divorced without their consent recently urged the Prime Ministers Office and Cabinet and other ministries to probe the issue and bring the guilty to book.
On October 2, 2004, the new Family Courts Law, passed in March 2004, has come into effect and 224 Family Courts have opened their doors for the first time.
In much of the Muslim world, women's lack of knowledge about statutory provisions and about the sources of customs and practices applied in their immediate community obstructs their ability to change their circumstances. This understanding was the basis for the Women & Law in the Muslim World Programme of the international solidarity network, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML).
