Many contemporary Muslim family laws continue to be based on classical fiqh rulings and outdated gender norms, and they reflect neither the justice that is central to the concept of law in Islam, nor our changing times and circumstances.
Several arguments commonly used to resist family law reform in Muslim contexts are often based on religious grounds. However, over the past decades, scholarship and activism in the Muslim world have developed to make the case for the possibility and necessity of reform.
Property rights for women is the key to gender equality within family and society. These rights ensure that
women can live and are given full autonomy, agency and dignity in marriage and family and within the state. They also contribute to economic development for communities and countries. When women have access to assets (especially those they are already the primary caretakers of and/or have contributed towards acquiring and building), the positive impacts are far reaching. It allows women improved access to income and livelihood opportunities, and allows them to invest in their families with positive outcomes for themselves and their children. https://campaignforjustice.musawah.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Policy-Paper-2-Matrimonial-Property-Rights-and-International-Human-Rights-Frameworks-1.pdf
‘Policy Brief 1: Why Muslim Family Law Reform? Why Now?’ outlines 10 fundamental facts to make the case for the reform of Muslim Family Laws, especially since resistance to reform is based on religious justifications. Many contemporary Muslim family laws continue to be based on classical fiqh rulings and outdated gender norms, and they reflect […]
As part of the Campaign for Justice, Musawah worked in collaboration with Legal Aid Society Pakistan on a national level initiative on women’s rights to matrimonial property (WRMP). As part of the collaboration, Musawah developed two policy papers for Pakistani practitioners on this topic. Paper 2 on Matrimonial Property Rights in Muslim Family Laws and […]