Abstract
This article investigates past and present understandings and applications of khul (a type of divorce by mutual agreement whereby a Muslim wife can rid herself of a husband who is not at fault, by a ransoming procedure) synthesizing existing scholarship on the subject as well as Hanafi juristic doctrines. As khul' is part of a larger concept, namely, divorce initiated or approved by women, attention will also be given to the other options that Islamic law - or, on some points, cultural practices - grants women in order to obtain release from the marital bond. A comparative analysis between the application of marriage and divorce laws under the Ottomans and in contemporary Egypt will then be undertaken with a view to shedding light on the effect that the rise of the nation-state has had on gender inequality.
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