Women before the Qādī under the Abbasids

Abstract In this article, I examine the appearance of Muslim women before the judge during the Abbasid period (132-334/750-945), both in theory and practice. The cases involving women found in law books suggest that they came freely to the court, especially for familial or marital purposes, and that...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Islamic law and society
Main Author: Tillier, Mathieu (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2009
In: Islamic law and society
Further subjects:B SOCIAL HIERARCHY
B Women
B PROCEDURE
B ABBASIDS
B Judges
B Courts
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Summary:Abstract In this article, I examine the appearance of Muslim women before the judge during the Abbasid period (132-334/750-945), both in theory and practice. The cases involving women found in law books suggest that they came freely to the court, especially for familial or marital purposes, and that the judges employed some women as court auxiliaries. However, a comparison of judicial manuals and the biographical literature shows that a woman's appearance before the judge could create a social disturbance and that not all women were allowed to appear in court. I argue that the social distinction between those who could leave their houses—and thus come before the judge—and those who could not correlated with the social hierarchy.
ISSN:1568-5195
Contains:Enthalten in: Islamic law and society
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/092893809X12529358595648