Judicial Activism in the Context of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution: Emerging Conceptions of Femininity and Masculinity

Lindbekk, Monika

doi:10.18352/rg.10206

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The provision of khul' was seen by some as symbolic of the old regime and its deviation from the principles of shariʿa. While there were instances of judicial activism in the analysed material, 96 it cannot be denied that the templates played a role in assuring a degree of stability in Muslim personal status law during a period characterised by social and political upheaval, in this case by providing personal status law with a certain religious legitimacy.…”

Section: Judicial Divorce Through Khul' (Tatliq Lil-khul')mentioning

confidence: 89%

Inscribing Islamic Shari‘a in Egyptian Divorce Law

Lindbekk¹

2017

OLR

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As with other family law regimes, Muslim family law in Egypt plays an important role in shaping gender norms. In this article, I discuss adjudication by family courts during the period 2008-2013. I argue that the most important developments in this regard are: (1) standardisation of the way in which court rulings are written down, which contributed to a normalisation of the male-dominated nuclear family; and (2) the significant inclusion of Islamic sources in court rulings. A central question in this regard is how judges without a background in classical Islamic jurisprudence have applied the modern legal codes derived from shari'a. I argue that a move towards greater standardisation of practice has taken place through a closer union between law and religious morality, with Quranic verses and the Sunna being used by judges in creative ways. Thus, shari'a is continuously reinscribed in state law and its meaning construed in ways which differ from classical Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh). I also highlight the importance of key contextual factors, such as judicial training, time pressure, and the influence of computer technology, behind these developments.

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Section: Judicial Divorce Through Khul' (Tatliq Lil-khul')mentioning

confidence: 89%

Inscribing Islamic Shari‘a in Egyptian Divorce Law

Lindbekk¹

2017

OLR

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“…In recent decades, Egypt has witnessed several legislative reforms in the area of Muslim personal status law. A growing body of scholarship has investigated the implementation of personal status legislation in Egyptian courts and in everyday life (Ahmed Zaki 2012;Al-Sharmani 2017;Bernard-Maugiron and Dupret 2008;Dupret 2007;Lindbekk 2017Lindbekk , 2020Sonneveld 2012). However, research on housing and legal studies has largely overlooked how divorced mothers negotiate access to housing, a key factor in post-divorce negotiations.…”

Section: Vtmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If the mother cannot perform her duty as custody-holder, the right passes to the person who is next in line for custody. It is established by Egyptian case law that if a mother is deemed unfit to have custody the child's female relatives should supervise the child, since he or she is believed to need women's naturally compassionate care until the age of 15 ( Lindbekk 2017). According to Article 20 of Law No.…”

Section: In and Out Of Court Bargainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

With the Best of Intentions

Hendawy

Lindbekk

2022

Journal of Legal Anthropology

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This article contributes to a growing literature on the implementation of shariʿa-derived state legislation in Egypt by exploring how differently positioned divorced mothers navigate Egypt’s highly gendered personal status codes under circumstances where many men are increasingly unable to discharge their part of the ‘patriarchal bargain’ due to a shortage in affordable housing. We highlight two discrepancies between legislative rules and social practice: The first is the divergence between state law and everyday norms, and the second looks at the limits of implementation and compliance in terms of actions taken by courts and other officials. We consider how and why Muslim personal status law reforms have sought to enhance divorced women’s bargaining position in the family where the relevant laws often have unintended, unforeseen and contradictory consequences when it comes to divorced custodian mothers’ access to housing.

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Implementing the Law of khulʿ in Egypt

Lindbekk

2020

Hawwa

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This article aims to contribute to the growing scholarly literature on the implementation of shariʿa-based family law codes by describing and analyzing the gender implications of religiously inspired judicial activism in relation to judicial divorce through khulʿ. The article highlights two functions played by family court judges and other legal professionals. First, I argue that Egyptian family court judges and other court personnel, such as court experts and court-appointed arbiters from al-Azhar, enjoy considerable discretion in interpreting and implementing the personal status codes. Second, the article argues that legal professionals sometimes use the court and other legal spaces as a platform to articulate alternative visions of family and marriage, as well as to voice anxieties over a perceived increase in female-initiated divorce. The article situates these contradictory practices against the background of the contestation of early twenty-first-century reforms, which challenged male authority in the family, in particular the 2000 law of judicial khulʿ.

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Judicial Activism in the Context of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution: Emerging Conceptions of Femininity and Masculinity

Cited by 3 publications

References 9 publications

Inscribing Islamic Shari‘a in Egyptian Divorce Law

Inscribing Islamic Shari‘a in Egyptian Divorce Law

With the Best of Intentions

Implementing the Law of khulʿ in Egypt

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