Gender and Human Rights in Islam and International Law

This study offers a conceptual analysis of gender and human rights under Islamic law, state law and international law, and extends this analysis to a specific examination of the nature of women's rights in the Islamic tradition. It explores the disparity between the theoretical perspective on women's rights and its application to Muslim jurisdictions, determined by elements of cultural practices, socio-economic realities and political expediencies, and uses the example of Pakistan to demonstrate the divergence between the theory and practice of Islamic law in these jurisdictions. It discusses the concept of an emerging ""operative"" Islamic law, which includes principles of Islamic law, secular codes of law and popular custom and usage.;Is the notion of human rights a purely ""Western"" concept? Is there a human rights discourse in Islam? What is the degree of compatibility or otherwise between the concept of human rights in the Islamic tradition and that viewed from an international legal perspective? Are men and women regarded as being equal in the Islamic legal tradition? Does formal equality always translate into substantive equality? This study aims to answer these and many other questions.;The author aims to deconstruct the various intractable notions that exist about gender, human rights, Islam and international law. She establishes a methodology for analyzing complex situations encompassing a variety of disciplines and presents a number of alternative approaches for their greater understanding. The book is based on extensive and in-depth research and provides a wealth of information across a number of fields including human rights, Islamic law, gender and the law, international law and constitutional law. It should be useful to academics, lawyers, researchers, activists and policy makers involved in human rights issues, gender studies and Islamic law.