Islamic Law, Gender and Social Change in Post-Abolition Zanzibar

Examining Islamic court records, this book sheds new light on Zanzibar's history of gender, social and racial identity.

List of contents

Introduction; 1. The kadhi's courts colonised; 2. Race and the impartial modern judiciary; 3. The kadhis and gender; 4. Litigants and the kadhi's courts; 5. The kadhi's alienation and autonomy; 6. Marriage, materialism and temporary compliance; 7. Property, debt and inheritance; 8. Bargaining for divorce; 9. The kadhis, ethnicity and the perpetuation of master-slave relations; Conclusion.

About the author

Elke E. Stockreiter is an Assistant Professor of History at American University, Washington, DC. She obtained her Ph.D. from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and previously held a position as an Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, such as the Journal of Eastern African Studies, and anthologies, such as Domestic Violence and the Law in Colonial and Postcolonial Africa (edited by Emily Burrill, Richard Roberts and Elizabeth Thornberry, 2010).

Summary

After the abolition of slavery in 1897, Zanzibar's Islamic courts became central institutions where former slaves negotiated socio-economic participation. Drawing upon difficult-to-read Islamic court records in Arabic, as well as marriage and divorce registers, this study sheds light on the island's history of gender, social and racial identity.

Product details

• Authors: Elke Stockreiter, Elke (University of Iowa) Stockreiter, Elke E. Stockreiter
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.12.2017
• EAN: 9781107640931
• ISBN: 978-1-107-64093-1
• No. of pages: 295
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Islam, HISTORY / Africa / General, Tanzania, 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999, Gender studies, gender groups, African History, Relating to Islamic / Muslim people and groups, Social groups: religious groups and communities