"A fascinating story that provides new layers to legal studies and women’s history as well as gender relationships. It shows how women managed to challenge the system of their subjugation in ways that are revealing about their capacity to adapt to constraining structural factors and show the power of women’s agency in pre-modern North Africa."—Driss Maghraoui, editor of Revisiting the Colonial Past in Morocco
"A pioneering, deeply-researched, thoughtful analysis of how everyday Islamic law functioned in fourteenth and fifteenth century Northwest Africa. . . . Admiral’s work is also invaluable for expanding the horizons of Islamic legal studies towards thirteenth-fifteenth century Morocco and the rich archive of historical and legal sources which demand further exploration."—Asma Sayeed, author of Women and the Transmission of Religious Knowledge in Islam
Description
In Living Law, Rosemary Admiral provides a groundbreaking history of women’s legal engagement in Marinid Morocco between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries that fundamentally challenges contemporary assumptions about women’s relationships to Islamic legal traditions. Drawing on a rich collection of fatwas (legal documents) from Fez, Tunis, and Granada, Admiral demonstrates how women—some without formal education—strategically navigated complex legal landscapes to protect their interests, expand their rights, and reshape social dynamics.
Contrary to prevailing narratives that portray Islamic law as a monolithic, oppressive system, the book shows how women actively co-produced legal interpretations. They used sophisticated strategies like contract stipulations, exploring plurality in legal opinions, and consulting local scholars to renegotiate marriage terms and expand their rights. These women did not view the legal system as an enemy, but as an instrument for challenging misdeeds and addressing community needs.
Admiral draws attention to the historical practice and implementation of the Maliki school of Islamic law in an area that remained outside of Ottoman control. She highlights women’s engagement with Islamic law as deeply embedded in support systems encompassing families, communities, and legal structures, and makes visible women’s agency and power.
About the Author
Rosemary Admiral is assistant professor of history at the University of Texas at Dallas. Her research interests include Islamic legal studies, premodern North African history, and gender and feminism.
Related Interest
September 2025