"A very timely collection that reveals the desperate need for reform of gender and family law in Muslim, Jewish, and Hindu communities."—Janet Afary, author of Sexual Politics in Modern Iran
The essays in this collection examine issues of family, gender, and law in the Middle East and South Asia. In particular, authors address the impact of colonialism on law and family and gender relations; the role of religious politics in writing family law and the implications for gender relations; and the tension between international standards emerging from UN conferences and conventions and various nationalist projects. Employing the frame of globalization, the authors highlight how local and global forces interact and influence the experience and actions of people who the law.
In making a comparison between two quite similar and culturally linked non-western regions, contributors avoid positing “the West” as a modern telos. Drawing upon the fields of anthropology, history, sociology, and law, this volume offers a wide ranging exploration of the complicated history of jurisprudence with regard to family and gender.
Kenneth M. Cuno is associate professor of history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Manisha Desai is the director of Women’s Studies at the University of Connecticut.
December 2009
