Competing Fundamentalisms and Egyptian Women’s Family Rights: International Law and the Reform of Shari’a-derived Legislation

The debate surrounding women’s family rights under Shari’a-derived law has long been held captive to the competing fundamentalisms of universalism and cultural relativism. These two conflicting perspectives fail to promote practical tools through which such laws can be reformed, without prejudice to their religious nature. This book examines the development of Egypt’s Shari’a-derived family law, and its compatibility with international obligations to eliminate discrimination against women. It highlights the interplay between domestic reform processes, grounded in the tools of takhayyur, talfiq and ijtihad, and international institutions and mechanisms. In attempting to reconcile these two seemingly dissonant value systems, this book underscores the shortcomings of Egypt’s legislation, proposes particular reforms, while simultaneously presenting alternatives to insular interpretations of international women’s rights law.