Gender, Religion, and Family Law: Theorizing Conflicts between Womens Rights and Cultural Traditions [Paperback]

In many regions of the world, rights guaranteed under the civil law, including rights to gender equality within marriage and rights in the distribution of family property and child custody upon divorce, are in conflict with the principles of religious law. Womens rights issues are often at the heart of these tensions, which present pressing challenges for theorists, lawyers, and policymakers. This anthology brings together leading scholars and activists doing innovative work in Jewish law, Muslim law, Christian law, and African customary law. Using examples drawn from a variety of nations and religions, they interrogate the utility of recent theoretical models for engaging with gender and multicultural conflicts, explore contextual differences, and analyze and celebrate stories of successful initiatives that have transformed legal and cultural norms to improve womens lives.

LISA FISHBAYN JOFFE is director of the Project on Gender, Culture, Religion and the Law at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute of Brandeis University. SYLVIA NEIL is a lecturer in law at University of Chicago Law School, where she teaches courses on religion, law, and politics.

Preface Introduction: Theorizing Conflicts between Womens Rights and Religious Laws - Lisa Fishbayn Joffe The Ethics of Recognizing Religious Family Law in Secular Societies Principles or Compromises: Accommodating Gender Equality and Religious Freedom in Multicultural Societies - Martha Minow Privatizing Diversity: A Cautionary Tale from Religious Arbitration in Family Law - Ayelet Shachar Marriage Pluralism, Family Law Jurisdiction, and Sex Equality in the United States - Linda C. McClain Exploring the Intersections of Civil and Religious Laws From Religious Right to Civil Wrong: Using Israeli Tort Law to Unravel the Knots of Gender, Equality, and Jewish Divorce - Susan Weiss Flirting with God in Western Secular Courts: Mahr in the West - Pascale Fournier Muslim Family LawlóR