INTRODUCTION

Presently, the position of women in Islam is one of the most debatable and controversial topics, in both Western media and Islamic jurispru­dence. This chapter will look at areas of Islamic law that affect the reproductive health and decisions of Muslim women.

While women have traditionally had few rights under Islam and have been oppressed for centuries, their reproductive rights in Muslim coun­tries such as Tunisia have greatly improved. In other countries, such as Saudi Arabia, women still lack many fundamental rights. Suggested reasons for this disparity are the impacts of colonisation and Westernis­ation in Tunisia that have allowed for a continual adaptation to modern society. In Saudi Arabia on the other hand, the culture remains more intact, with a strict adherence to Shari’ah persists and a lack of Western influence is evident.

It will be argued in this chapter that religion is not the source of all discriminatory treatment of women, but rather that it stems from the traditional cultural and social norms of a particular society. However, as religion informs and shapes cultures, such practices are the indirect consequences of religion, in this case, Islam.

As there is no central authority figure like the pope in Islam, there is an assortment of beliefs on every aspect of life.^[942] Furthermore, as the primary sources of Islamic law - the Quran and Sunna - have continu­ally been reinterpreted and adapted to society over time through ijtihad, qiyas, ijma’ and the issuing of fatwas, it is almost impossible to find agreement on any topic throughout the Muslim world. This discussion will therefore refer to just some of the views held on reproductive health issues.

II.