Sex Equality in Family Law: Historical Legacies, Feminist Activism, and Religious Power in 70 Countries

Publication:
Sex Equality in Family Law: Historical Legacies, Feminist Activism, and Religious Power in 70 Countries

dc.contributor.author	Htun, Mala
dc.contributor.author	Weldon, Laurel
dc.date.accessioned	2012-06-26T15:41:27Z
dc.date.available	2012-06-26T15:41:27Z
dc.date.issued	2012
dc.description.abstract	Family law--also called personal status law--is one of the central institutions of gender. It molds social identities and distributes rights and responsibilities, forging relations of power between men and women, parents and children, brothers and sisters. These status differences are consequential not just for the private sphere but also for public opportunities. Family laws shape the capacity of a citizen to own, inherit, and manage property; to work outside the home; her freedom to marry, divorce, and remarry; and her or his relationship with children. Most modern family law emphasizes patriarchy and other forms of male dominance. It tended (and still tends) to maximize men's power over women and limit the latter's ability to make decisions and take independent action. Classical Islamic law, the Napoleonic Code, Anglo-American common law, and the customary law of many sub-Saharan African groups and indigenous peoples of the Americas all upheld the notion that men were in charge of family life: they controlled property, were the legal guardians of children, and had the right to restrict their wives' public activities. Women were obliged to obey their husbands, had limited access to divorce, and, in many traditions, fewer inheritance rights than men.	en
dc.identifier.doi	10.1596/9204
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10986/9204
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	Washington, DC: World Bank
dc.rights	CC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holder	World Bank
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subject	World Development Report 2012
dc.title	Sex Equality in Family Law: Historical Legacies, Feminist Activism, and Religious Power in 70 Countries	en
dspace.entity.type	Publication
okr.crosscuttingsolutionarea	Gender
okr.date.doiregistration	2025-05-05T11:45:37.049327Z
okr.globalpractice	Governance
okr.language.supported	en
okr.region.administrative	Africa
okr.region.administrative	Europe and Central Asia
okr.region.administrative	Middle East and North Africa
okr.region.administrative	Latin America & Caribbean
okr.region.administrative	East Asia and Pacific
okr.region.administrative	South Asia
okr.relation.associatedurl	https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/4391
okr.topic	Gender
okr.topic	Law and Development