Bibliograph

Women, the Koran and international human rights law, the experience of Pakistan, Niaz A. Shah

Type

Label

Women, the Koran and international human rights law, the experience of Pakistan, Niaz A. Shah

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 241-257) and index

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Women, the Koran and international human rights law

Medium

electronic resource

Nature of contents

dictionariesbibliography

Oclc number

237070774

Responsibility statement

Niaz A. Shah

Series statement

Brill E-Books - Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Archive 2000-2006Brill E-Books

Sub title

the experience of Pakistan

Summary

Religion plays a pivotal role in the way women are treated around the world, socially and legally. This book discusses three Islamic human rights approaches: secular, non-compatible, reconciliatory (compatible), and proposes a contextual interpretive approach. It is argued that the current gender discriminatory statutory Islamic laws in Islamic jurisdictions, based on the decontextualised interpretation of the Koran, can be reformed through Ijtihad : independent individual reasoning. It is claimed that the original intention of the Koran was to protect the rights of women and raise their status in society, not to relegate them to subordination. This Koranic intention and spirit may be recaptured through the proposed contextual interpretation which in fact means using an Islamic (or insider) strategy to achieve gender equality in Muslim states and greater compatibility with international human rights law. It discusses the negative impact of the so-called statutory Islamic laws of Pakistan on the enjoyment of women's human rights and robustly challenges their Koranic foundation. While supporting the international human rights regime, this book highlights the challenges to its universality: feminism and cultural relativism. To achieve universal application, genuine voices from different cultures and groups must be accommodated. It is argued that the women's human rights regime does not cover all issues of concern to women and has a weak implementation mechanism. The book argues for effective implementation procedures to turn women's human rights into reality.--, Provided by publisher

Classification