Document Type
Symposium
Publication Date
Winter 2011
Publication Citation
18 Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies 145 (2011)
Abstract
Examining cross-national variation in family law, we find that many countries have reformed to promote sex equality. Yet a significant group retains older laws that discriminate against women. These variations reflect the diverse institutional legacies of these societies, conforming closely-but not entirely-to inherited legal traditions: civil law, common law, and postsocialist countries are the most egalitarian, while countries applying religious law are the least. Yet change is possible, even in unlikely contexts. Political conjunctures that disarm religious, nationalist, and fundamentalist opponents can open windows of opportunity for liberalizing reform.
Human Rights and Legal Systems Across the Global South, Symposium, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Bloomington, Indiana. 9-10 April 2010.
Recommended Citation
Htun, Mala and Weldon, S. Laurel
(2011)
"State Power, Religion, and Women's Rights: A Comparative Analysis of Family Law,"
Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies: Vol. 18:
Iss.
1, Article 7.
Available at:
https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ijgls/vol18/iss1/7
Included in
Family Law Commons, International Trade Law Commons, Law and Gender Commons, Religion Law Commons