Abstract
Many postcolonial Arab states have secularized their civil, commercial, and penal codes to meet the necessities of modern life. Reforming sharia law, however, still has not been tackled by most Arab states, with the exception of Tunisia and, more recently, Morocco, which succeeded in amending certain provisions of Islamic sharia law, for example, by prohibiting polygamy, eliminating unilateral divorce, and removing the need for the consent of a guardian in marriage (Moroccan Family Code [ Moudawana ] 2004). Through a close analysis of the fatwa on guardianship in marriage, this essay considers whether or not Palestinian muftis 2 (jurisconsults) have adapted to new social conditions when reaching legal decisions, including higher levels of education and the growing economic independence of women. I argue that they have not and, further, that the fatwa diminishes women’s legal status and compounds women’s disadvantage, by reinforcing prevailing patriarchal attitudes that continue to suppress women in the Middle East more generally.
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