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Introduction to Middle Eastern Law$
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Chibli Mallat

Print publication date: 2007

Print ISBN-13: 9780199230495

Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: January 2009

DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230495.001.0001

Family Law: The Search for Equality

Chapter:
(p. 355 ) 10 Family Law: The Search for Equality
Source:
Introduction to Middle Eastern Law
Author(s):

Chibli Mallat

Publisher:
Oxford University Press
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230495.003.0010

This chapter introduces family law from the point of view of legislative reform and the position of women in the legal system. The central thesis sees Alexis de Tocqueville's concept of the ‘age of equality’ as the dominant paradigm in modern Middle Eastern law. It is argued that contemporary family law in the region is driven by legislative efforts to set increased equality between men and women, against a classical age which was overwhelmingly non-egalitarian. The equality debate in Muslim family law is addressed in the course of an analysis of marriage, divorce, and child custody, and is pursued in the light of legislation and legislative debates, as well as court decisions.

Keywords:   family laws, legislative reform, women, Middle Eastern law, marriage, divorce, child custody, Alexis de Tocqueville

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