The family is where legal rules presented as part of the Islamic shari`a are most widely applied in the Muslim world. This connection, often differently elaborated by particular social constituencies, can present difficulties to the advocates of law reform. At the same time, the resonance of the issues at which advocacy is targeted creates an opportunity for creative exchange in addressing practical strategies for change. This volume explores the present-day realities of Islamic family law, with particular emphasis on the rights of women, and focusing on law in its living social context as reflected in public opinion and personal experience.

A concluding study ranges further afield in order to explore the challenges and potential of 'principles of shari`a' in advocacy on the question of violence against women.

This book makes possible a detailed examination of possibilities of, and constraints on, legal reform in the area of Islamic family law in specific contemporary contexts.