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3 - A Comparative Perspective of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Principles of Islamic Law: Law Reform and Children's Rights in Muslim Jurisdictions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2009

UNICEF
By
Shaheen Sardar Ali
Shaheen Sardar Ali
Affiliation:
Professor of Law, University of Warwick; Professor II, Department of Public Law, University of Oslo
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Summary

INTRODUCTION

This chapter evaluates the impact of the United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child (CRC) in a selection of Muslim States parties. It will comment on legislative reform initiatives (in addition to existing legal frameworks, statutory provisions and institutional mechanisms) undertaken in Jordan, Mauritania and Morocco affecting child rights, highlighting compatibility or otherwise with substantive provisions of the CRC. Arguing from a socio-legal and law-in-context approach, the chapter will propose a framework for enhanced convergence of the Islamic legal tradition and the CRC to create an enabling environment for child rights in these jurisdictions.

THE CONTEXT FOR LEGAL REFORM ON CHILD RIGHTS IN MUSLIM JURISDICTIONS: PAST AND PRESENT

An overview of the status of human rights treaties, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the CRC, presents an interesting pattern of ratification and reservations. Although many countries have ratified with reservations, Muslim countries are unique in the fact that they have specifically identified the Islamic religion and Islamic law as justification for many of these reservations. It is therefore pertinent to initiate the discussion of implementation of the CRC in Muslim jurisdictions by presenting an overview of the conceptual foundations of human rights and child rights in Islam, which to a large extent informs the legal system in Muslim countries.

Type
Chapter
Information
Protecting the World's Children
Impact of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Diverse Legal Systems
 , pp. 142 - 208
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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References

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Shaheed, F. et al., eds. Shaping Women's Lives: Laws, Practices and Strategies in Pakistan. Lahore: Shirkatgah, 1996.Google Scholar
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Tabandeh, S.A Muslim Commentary on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Translated by Goulding, F. J.. Guildford: Goulding, 1970.Google Scholar
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Weiss, B.The Spirit of Islamic Law. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1998.Google Scholar
Welch Jr., C. E. & Meltzer, R, eds. Human Rights and Development in Africa. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1984.Google Scholar
Welchman, L.Beyond the Code: Muslim Family Law and Shari Judiciary in the Palestinian West Bank. The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 2000.Google Scholar
Yamani, M., ed. Feminism and Islam: Legal and Literary Perspectives. Reading: Ithaca Press, 1996.Google Scholar
Yamani, M., ed. Feminism and Islam. London: Ithaca Press, 1996.Google Scholar
The Quran, English translation by Abdullah Yousaf Ali
Democratic Commission for Human Development. Report on Human Rights Situation in Rural Communities in Pakistan 1996. Lahore: DCHD, 1996.
Nasser, L.Implementation of CRC and CEDAW in the Arab Countries: An Analysis of Reservations. A Case Study of 6 Project Countries: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia. Amman: UNICEF, 1997.Google Scholar
United Nations Development Programme. Human Development Report 2004. New York: UNDP, 2004.
Afshar, H.Islam and Feminism: An Iranian Case-Study. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1998.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ahmed, K. N.Muslim Law of Divorce. New Delhi: Kitab Bhavan, 1978.Google Scholar
Ahmed, L.Women and Gender in Islam. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992.Google Scholar
Al-Azami, M.On Schacht's Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence. Oxford: Centre for Islamic Studies and Islamic Texts Society, 1996. (First published 1985.)Google Scholar
Al Azhar Working Group. Child Care in Islam. Cairo: UNICEF, 1985.
Alami, D.The Marriage Contract in Islamic Law. London: Graham & Trotman, 1992.Google Scholar
Alami, D. and Hinchcliffe, D.. Islamic Marriage and Divorce Laws of the Arab World. London: CIMEL and Kluwer Law International, 1998.Google Scholar
Ali, S. S.Gender and Human Rights in Islam and International Law Equal Before Allah, Unequal Before Man? The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 2000.Google Scholar
Ali, S. S.The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Islamic Law and Laws of Pakistan: A Comparative Study. Peshawar: Norwegian Development Agency (NORAD), 1995.Google Scholar
Ali, S. S. and Jamil, B.. A Comparative Study of the UN Convention on Rights of the Child, Islamic Law and Pakistan Legislation. Peshawar: Educational Computing Services for Radda Barnen (Save the Children Sweden), 1994.Google Scholar
An-Naim, A. A., ed. Islamic Family Law in a Changing World: A Global Resource Book. London: Zed Books, 2002.Google Scholar
An-Naim, A. A.Towards an Islamic Reformation: Civil Liberties, Human Rights and International Law. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1990.Google Scholar
Anderson, J.Law Reform in the Muslim World. London: Athlone Press, 1976.Google Scholar
Arabi, O.Studies in Modern Islamic Law and Jurisprudence. The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 2001.Google Scholar
Burton, J.The Collection of the Qur'an. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977.Google Scholar
Burton, J.An Introduction to the Hadith. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1994.Google Scholar
Burton, J.The Sources of Islamic Law. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1990.Google Scholar
Calder, N.Studies in Early Muslim Jurisprudence. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.Google Scholar
Coulson, N.A History of Islamic Law. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1964.Google Scholar
Coulson, N.Conflicts and Tensions in Islamic Jurisprudence. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1969.Google Scholar
Crone, P.Roman, Provincial and Islamic Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doi, A. R. I.Shariah: The Islamic Law. London: Ta Ha Publishers, 1984.Google Scholar
Dupret, B.., eds. Legal Pluralism in the Arab World. The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 1999.Google Scholar
Edge, I., ed. Islamic Law and Legal Theory. Dartmouth: Aldershot, 1996.Google Scholar
Esposito, J.Women in Muslim Family Law. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1992.Google Scholar
Fyzee, M.A Handbook of Muhammadan Law. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 1974.Google Scholar
Haeri, S.The Law of Desire: Temporary Marriage in Islam. London: I. B. Tauris, 1990.Google Scholar
Hamilton, C.The Hedaya. Lahore: Premier Book House, 1957.Google Scholar
Hamidullah, M.The Muslim Conduct of State. Lahore: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, 7th edn., 1987.Google Scholar
Iqbal, M.Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1884. (subsequent editions available).Google Scholar
Khadduri, M. and Leisbensy, H. J., eds. Law in the Middle East. Washington, DC: The Middle East Institute, 1955.Google Scholar
Khadduri, M.The Islamic Law of Nations: Shaybani's Siyar. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1966.Google Scholar
Little, D., Kersley, J. and Sachedina, A. A., eds. Human Rights and the Conflict of Cultures: Western and Islamic Perspectives on Religious Liberty. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1988.Google Scholar
Mahmood, T.Family Law Reform in the Muslim World. Bombay: Tripathi, N. M., 1972.Google Scholar
Mallat, C. and Connors, J., eds. Islamic Family Law. London: Graham & Trotman, 1990.Google Scholar
Mannan, M. A., ed. Mulla's Principles of Muhammadan Law. Lahore: PLD Publishers, 1995.Google Scholar
Maudoodi, M. A. A. ‘Islamic and Western Laws on Divorce – A Comparative Historical Perspective’. Islamic and Comp. Law Q. 1 (1981): 17–23.Google Scholar
Mawdudi, A. A.Human Rights in Islam. Translated by Ahmed., K.Leicester: Islamic Foundation, 1980.Google Scholar
Mayer, A. E.Islam and Human Rights Tradition and Politics. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998.Google Scholar
Meriwether, M. L. and Tucker, J.. A Social History of Women and Gender in the Modern Middle East. Boulder CO: Westview Press, 1999.Google Scholar
Mernissi, F.Beyond the Veil. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987.Google Scholar
Mernissi, F.Women and Islam. Translated by Mary Jo Lakeland. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1991.Google Scholar
Mir-Hosseini, Z.Marriage on Trial. London: Tauris, I. B., 1993.Google Scholar
Moinuddin, H.The Charter of the Islamic Conference and Legal Framework of Economic Cooperation Among Its Member States. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987.Google Scholar
Moors, A.Women, Property and Islam, Palestinian Experiences 1920–1990. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.Google Scholar
Nasir, J.The Islamic Law of Personal Status. London: Graham & Trotman, 1986.Google Scholar
Nasir, J.The Status of Women under Islamic Law. London: Graham & Trotman, 1994.Google Scholar
Pearl, D. and Menski, W.. Muslim Family Law. London: Sweet & Maxwell, 3rd edn., 1998.Google Scholar
Rahim, A.Muhammadan Jurisprudence. Lahore: Mansoor Book House, 1995.Google Scholar
Rahim, A.The Principles of Muhammadan Jurisprudence. Lahore: Mansoor Book House, 1995.Google Scholar
Rehman, F.Islam. London: University of Chicago Press, 2nd edn., 1979.Google Scholar
Rehman, F.Islam and Modernity Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982.Google Scholar
Rehof, L. A.Guide to the Travaux Preparatoires of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff, 1993.Google Scholar
Roald, A. S.Women in Islam: The Western Experience. London: Routledge, 2001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schacht, J.An Introduction to Islamic Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1964.Google Scholar
Schacht, J. ‘Islamic Law in Contemporary States’. American Journal of Comparative Law 8 (1959): 133–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schacht, J.Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1950.Google Scholar
Shaheed, F. et al., eds. Shaping Women's Lives: Laws, Practices and Strategies in Pakistan. Lahore: Shirkatgah, 1996.Google Scholar
Siddiqui, M. Z.Hadith Literature. Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, rev. edn., 1993.Google Scholar
Sonbol, A., ed. Women, the Family and Divorce Laws in Islamic History. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1996.Google Scholar
Tabandeh, S.A Muslim Commentary on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Translated by Goulding, F. J.. Guildford: Goulding, 1970.Google Scholar
Taha, M. M.The Second Message of Islam. Translated by Naim, A. A.. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1987.Google Scholar
Tucker, J.In the House of the Law: Gender and Islamic Law in Syria and Palestine, 17th–18th Centuries. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.Google Scholar
Weiss, B.The Spirit of Islamic Law. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1998.Google Scholar
Welch Jr., C. E. & Meltzer, R, eds. Human Rights and Development in Africa. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1984.Google Scholar
Welchman, L.Beyond the Code: Muslim Family Law and Shari Judiciary in the Palestinian West Bank. The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 2000.Google Scholar
Yamani, M., ed. Feminism and Islam: Legal and Literary Perspectives. Reading: Ithaca Press, 1996.Google Scholar
Yamani, M., ed. Feminism and Islam. London: Ithaca Press, 1996.Google Scholar

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