Marriage, Money And Divorce In Medieval Islamic Society (cambridge Studies In Islamic Civilization)
by Yossef Rapoport /
2005 / English / PDF
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High rates of divorce, often taken to be a modern and western
phenomenon, were also typical of medieval Islamic societies. By
pitting these high rates of divorce against the Islamic ideal of
marriage,Yossef Rapoport radically challenges usual assumptions
about the legal inferiority of Muslim women and their economic
dependence on men. He argues that marriages in late medieval Cairo,
Damascus and Jerusalem had little in common with the patriarchal
models advocated by jurists and moralists. The transmission of
dowries, women's access to waged labour, and the strict separation
of property between spouses made divorce easy and normative,
initiated by wives as often as by their husbands. This carefully
researched work of social history is interwoven with intimate
accounts of individual medieval lives, making for a truly
compelling read. It will be of interest to scholars of all
disciplines concerned with the history of women and gender in
Islam.
High rates of divorce, often taken to be a modern and western
phenomenon, were also typical of medieval Islamic societies. By
pitting these high rates of divorce against the Islamic ideal of
marriage,Yossef Rapoport radically challenges usual assumptions
about the legal inferiority of Muslim women and their economic
dependence on men. He argues that marriages in late medieval Cairo,
Damascus and Jerusalem had little in common with the patriarchal
models advocated by jurists and moralists. The transmission of
dowries, women's access to waged labour, and the strict separation
of property between spouses made divorce easy and normative,
initiated by wives as often as by their husbands. This carefully
researched work of social history is interwoven with intimate
accounts of individual medieval lives, making for a truly
compelling read. It will be of interest to scholars of all
disciplines concerned with the history of women and gender in
Islam.