Both Muslims and non-Muslims see women in most Muslim countries as suffering from social
economic and political discrimination treated by law and society as second-class citizens
subject to male authority. This discrimination is attributed to Islam and Islamic law and
since the late 19th century there has been a mass of literature tackling this issue. Recently
exciting new feminist research has been challenging gender discrimination and male authority
from within Islamic legal tradition: this book presents some important results from that
research. The contributors all engage critically with two central juristic concepts rooted in
the Qur'an they lie at the basis of this discrimination. One refers to a husband's authority
over his wife his financial responsibility toward her and his superior status and rights. The
other is male family members' right and duty of guardianship over female members (e.g. fathers
over daughters when entering into marriage contracts) and the privileging of fathers over
mothers in guardianship rights over their children. The contributors brought together by the
Musawah global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family include Omaima Abou-Bakr
Asma Lamrabet Ayesha Chaudhry Sa'diyya Shaikh Lynn Welchman Marwa Sharefeldin Lena Larsen
and Amina Wadud.
