Marriage, Money and Divorce in Medieval Islamic Society (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization)

High rates of divorce, often taken to be a modern and western phenomenon, were also typical of medieval Islamic societies. By pitting these high rates of divorce against the Islamic ideal of marriage,Yossef Rapoport radically challenges usual assumptions about the legal inferiority of Muslim women and their economic dependence on men. He argues that marriages in late medieval Cairo, Damascus and Jerusalem had little in common with the patriarchal models advocated by jurists and moralists. The transmission of dowries, women's access to waged labour, and the strict separation of property between spouses made divorce easy and normative, initiated by wives as often as by their husbands. This carefully researched work of social history is interwoven with intimate accounts of individual medieval lives, making for a truly compelling read. It will be of interest to scholars of all disciplines concerned with the history of women and gender in Islam. "In medieval Islamic society, divorce was commonplace. Although Islamic law regarded it as a patriarchal privilege, the prevalence of divorce undermined the social order by destabilizing households and increasing the number of unattached single women. In this fascinating account of domestic life in Cairo, Damascus and Jerusalem, Yossef Rapoport explores this trend through a radical rethink of the economic and legal dimensions of gender relations. Using a variety of legal, documentary and literary sources, he demonstrates that women possessed a surprising level of economic independence, both within and outside marriage, and that women manipulated patriarchal ideals and used their economic leverage to initiate divorce as often as men. The book covers a range of topics including dowry, women's access to waged labour, and oaths of repudiation. It is a compelling read and promises to make a substantial contribution to the social history of a relatively understudied period." Yossef Rapoport explores the prevalence of divorce in medieval Islamic society. In so doing, he reveals that women possessed a surprising level of economic independence which they manipulated to initiate divorce as often as men. The book makes a significant contribution to the social history of an understudied period

The author explores gender relations, marriage and divorce in medieval Islamic society.