line with international norms and codes as enshrined
in such conventions as the Universal Declaration
on Human Rights, the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW), the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, the International
Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural
Rights, and the Beijing Declaration and Platform
for Action.
The content of family law varies to some degree
across countries, depending on the legal school in
place and, over time, change has occurred. The for-
mer People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (then
known as “the Cuba of the Middle East”) adopted
an audaciously egalitarian family law in the late
1960s, but it was abrogated after the country
merged with North Yemen in 1990. Some constitu-
tions stipulate equality of all citizens (for example,
that of Egypt), but this is contradicted by the family
law, which confers different rights and obligations
on women and men. Saudi Arabia, which has no
modern constitution, refers to the Qur±àn as its
basic law, and has institutionalized a patriarchal
interpretation of Islamic precepts governing marriage
and the status of women in the family and society.
What is common across Arab countries is that
religious law is elevated to civil status, and religious
affiliation is a requirement of citizenship. This
often places women, secular Muslims, and non-
Muslims in a disadvantaged position. In Sudan,
where a long civil war has engaged the predomi-
nantly Arab and Muslim north against the black
and non-Muslim south, the Sudanese state con-
structs the “authentic” citizen as a Muslim. Any
abandoned or foundling children may be adopted
by Muslims only, and raised as Muslims (Hale
2000, 95).
Male guardianship is usually inscribed in the
family laws, and thus the father or other male kin
may permit “a virgin” to marry. The Islamic mar-
riage contract does require the consent of the wife,
and in some countries women may insert stipula-
tions into the contract, such as the condition that
she be the only wife (An-Naim 2002). Marriage,
however, remains largely an agreement between
two families rather than two individuals with equal
rights and obligations. Moreover, marriage gives
the husband the right of access to his wife’s body,
marital rape is not recognized, and a wife is
required to obey her husband (Shehadeh 1998,
Welchman 2001). Children acquire citizenship and
religious status through their fathers, not their
mothers. Muslim women are not permitted to
marry non-Muslim men. Under Islamic family law,
males inherit more family wealth than do females,22 citizenship
and non-Muslim widows cannot inherit from
Muslim husbands. A husband may divorce without
reason, and some countries allow repudiation, but
a woman can divorce – or request that she be
divorced – only upon specific conditions. Because
Islamic family law operates on the principle of
patrilineality, fathers or their male agnates are given
automatic custody of children upon divorce.
Muslim family law also permits the practice of
polygamy by men.
Under Islamic family law and attendant civil
codes, women are required to obtain the permission
of father, husband, or other male guardian to seek
employment, start a business, travel, or open a
bank account for a child. In Jordan and Sudan, a
father or husband has the legal right to forbid his
wife or daughter to seek employment or continue in
a job. In Sudan, a woman cannot claim her spouse
as a dependent; only a man can do so, and only
he can receive family allowances. An employed
woman cannot receive any residential plot that may
be allocated to those in public service if her hus-
band already has one (Hale 2000, 94). The impli-
cation of guardianship is that women are seen as
incapable of entering contracts on their own. Wives
who are educated or politically aware may stipulate
the condition that they be allowed to work in their
marriage contracts, but others make no such stipu-
lations, and courts have been known to side with
the husband when the issue is contested (Sonbol
2003, 89–99). In constructing women as depend-
ents of men and minors within the family, Arab
legal codes have strengthened the male breadwin-
ner/female homemaker ideal – or “the patriarchal
gender contract” (Moghadam 1998) – which in
turn has reinforced women’s second-class citizen-
ship in economic and political domains.Socioeconomic implications
Muslim family law mandates a sum of money
from the groom to the bride, the mahr, which is
sometimes paid in full and sometimes deferred until
the event of divorce. The marriage contract stipu-
lates the amount, which is usually agreed to by both
families. A husband is obligated to provide for his
wife and children, and non-maintenance by the
husband is grounds for divorce. A wife is under no
obligation to share her wealth or any earnings with
her husband, contribute to the family economy, or
even perform household labor. In return for main-
tenance (nafaqa) by the husband, the wife is obli-
gated to obey her husband, provide sexual services,
and bear children. In the case of divorce, however,
she may lose her claim to the mahr if she is seen to
be at fault or if she initiates the divorce.