Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Why Aren't Women Sharī'a Court Judges? The Case of Syria

Why Aren't Women Sharī'a Court Judges? The Case of Syria <jats:sec><jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Women make up 14% of the judiciary in Syria and work at all levels of the ordinary courts, both civil and criminal. However, they do not hold office in the personal status courts, special courts that apply codified religious law. This essay presents all opinions, both majority and minority, that explain the legal and social reasons for the non-appointment of women to the Muslim personal status courts known as sharī'a courts. I discuss how religious texts and classical Islamic legal doctrine are used today to undermine women's judicial power and oppose their appointment to the ordinary courts. If a woman cannot act as a sharī'a court judge, then who can? I attempt to answer this all-important question within the Syrian context. The main source of data is interviews conducted with eighty judges and public prosecutors of Damascus and Aleppo between May 2004 and July 2007.</jats:p> </jats:sec> http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Islamic Law and Society Brill

Why Aren't Women Sharī'a Court Judges? The Case of Syria

Islamic Law and Society , Volume 17 (2): 185 – Jan 1, 2010

Loading next page...
 
/lp/brill/why-aren-t-women-shar-a-court-judges-the-case-of-syria-3x0f0Hve0n

References

References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.

Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2010 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0928-9380
eISSN
1568-5195
DOI
10.1163/092893809X12574201282954
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

<jats:sec><jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Women make up 14% of the judiciary in Syria and work at all levels of the ordinary courts, both civil and criminal. However, they do not hold office in the personal status courts, special courts that apply codified religious law. This essay presents all opinions, both majority and minority, that explain the legal and social reasons for the non-appointment of women to the Muslim personal status courts known as sharī'a courts. I discuss how religious texts and classical Islamic legal doctrine are used today to undermine women's judicial power and oppose their appointment to the ordinary courts. If a woman cannot act as a sharī'a court judge, then who can? I attempt to answer this all-important question within the Syrian context. The main source of data is interviews conducted with eighty judges and public prosecutors of Damascus and Aleppo between May 2004 and July 2007.</jats:p> </jats:sec>

Journal

Islamic Law and SocietyBrill

Published: Jan 1, 2010

Keywords: SHARĪ'A COURTS; SYRIA; WOMEN JUDGES; JUDICIARY; GUARDIANSHIP

There are no references for this article.