Reform of personal status law

In 1995 the CPRS survey found strong support for reform of existing law as long as it remained within the framework of shari'a. In that survey, 61 per cent of males and 57 per cent of females supported the statement that ‘the existing Islamic laws (those that relate to social aspects) require reinterpretation in order to become more appropriate to contemporary life’.

Between 1995 and 2000 there was a growth in support for this position with 84 per cent of males and 88 per cent of females responding positively to the statement that ‘family law should respond to changes and new needs in Palestinian society’ (see Table II.ιι). 1 his suggests that the campaign undertaken post-19g5 through the model parliament, discussed in the following chapter, had an important impact, not only by opening a public debate about the issue, but also in raising awareness about the need for reform.

Table 11.11 Do you think family law should respond to changes and new needs in Palestinian society? (%)

	West Bank		Gaza		Jerusalem		Total
	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female
Yes	81	9⁰	88	86	89	84	84	88
No	¹9	IO	12	H	II	16	16	12
Total	IOO	IOO	IOO	IOO	IOO	IOO	IOO	IOO

The 2000 survey was also able to assess what the preferred nature of reform should be: 41 per cent of males and 62 per cent of females supported change that gave women more rights within family law than presently existed (see Table IL12).

This represents a significant gender gap of 20 per cent with a greater number of women desiring change that would provide them greater rights.

Table 11.12 Do you favour more, fewer or the same level of rights given to women in the family law currently existing in your place of residence?

	West Bank		Gaza		Jerusalem		Total
	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female
More	46	67	35	57	24	55	41	62
Less	6	2	II	5	6	2	8	3
Same	48	Зі	54	38	7¹	43	52	35
Total	IOO	IOO	IOO	IOO	IOO	IOO	IOO	IOO

Signihcantly, most of those who do not agree with expanding women’s rights are not for further limiting them in the law, but are in favour of the status quo. Thus, 52 per cent of men and 35 per cent of women feel that the existent level of rights allowed to women should stay the same — and only 8 per cent of men and 3 per cent of women feel they should be more limited.

Finally, it is clear that men hold much more contradictory stances towards the price of reform; the gap between the 52 per cent of men who want the status quo and the 84 per cent of men who earlier claimed to support reform (albeit indirectly) suggests that while supporting the abstract principle, the translation of this in ways that may potentially affect their practical interests is more problematic.

However, if reform is posed as moving in the direction of civil law, once again the doxa of shaτi'a comes to the fore. Thus, when asked in the current survey if they would support the right of individuals to marry under civil law if this did not affect the right of others to marry under shari'a, only 26 per cent of males and 21 per cent of females agreed. While this is a significant one-quarter of males and one-fifth of females surveyed, the overall impression from the responses is the profound commitment to shari'a as the basis for family law by both, but especially by women.

Reactions to Egyptian divorce reform: the case of khul' In terms of specifying proposed areas of change in the existing law, the survey asked respondents about their reactions to the recent law on divorce enacted in Egypt (see Table H. 13).

Table 11.13 Recently a law was passed in Egypt enabling women to ask for a divorce if they waive their financial rights. Would you like to see a similar law enacted in Palestine? (%)

	West Bank		Gaza		Jerusalem		Total
	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female
Yes	34	41	25	3⁰	50	48	32	37
No	66	59	75	70	50	52	68	⁶3
Total	IOO	IOO	IOO	IOO	IOO	IOO	IOO	IOO

The question was not dependent on respondents’ actual knowledge of the Egyptian reform, but asked whether they saw a law enabling women to divorce through waiving their financial rights as a positive innovation they would support

Table 11.14 Why do you support or oppose a law enabling women to ask for a divorce if they waive their financial rights? (%)

Females

Males

Positive supportfor women’s divorce rights

Support because allows women to divorce

Oppose because women should not lose property

Total

Negative support for women’s divorce rights

Support because divorced women should lose property Oppose because women should not divorce

Total

27 33

44 28

71 61

5 4

24 35

29 39

in Palestine.

Only one-third of respondents supported enactment of such a law, although a slightly higher percentage of women (37 per cent) than men (32 per cent) did. Lowest support for such a law was among Gazan males, while highest support was amongjerusalem females, followed by West Bank females. The survey went on to ask why respondents supported or opposed the enactment of such a law (see Table ∏.14).

When one looks at the various positions above, clearly, the majority of men and women are responsive to the right of women to divorce, but they differ about the terms and importance of women’s property in such circumstances. In particular, we can divide the respondents into those who, regardless of their stance towards the proposed reform, positively support women’s right or ability to divorce versus those who, regardless of their stance towards the khul' law, are negative towards women’s rights or ability to divorce. Seventy-one per cent of women support women’s rights to divorce as such, but the majority of them (44 per cent) think that women should not lose their property' rights in order to do so. Among males, a lesser 61 per cent support women’s right to divorce as such, but only 28 per cent of those oppose women losing their property rights in order to do so.

In responding to this question, the majority of men and women reiterate their support for women’s right to divorce. However, in comparison to the earlier question regarding under which specific circumstances women should be allowed the right to divorce, there is a dramatic drop in support. Once again, it is also clear from the above responses that women are more supportive of their right to divorce than are men, with an approximate 10 per cent gender gap.

Who should reform the law? One aspect of the political conflict that emerged in the model parliament campaign was over who had the right to propose reform of existing personal status laws, and who had the right actually to reform it, as discussed elsewhere in this case study.

The 2000 survey sought to find out who was thought by respondents to be the legitimate body to decide on reform. The most support was expressed for the statement that ‘the society should vote’ at 33 per cent. This was followed by shari'a court judges only at 26 per cent; the Palestinian Legislative Council at 17 per cent; and the President at 12 per cent. As such, secular state institutions and democratic vote account for 59 per cent of the responses. If presidential decree is added to this, the result is that 72 per cent of respondents put the decision of reform of personal status law in the hands of secular authorities rather than the shar'i establishment. Throughout the myriad public opinion polls, Palestinians have consistently shown a strong identification with democratic institutions and forms of governance. The above assertion that the ‘people should decide’ suggests the degree to which democratic and inclusive decision-making is an orthodoxy within Palestinian society - one powerful enough to be invoked when addressing the doxa or orthodoxy of ‘shari'a¹. It also attests to the degree to which personal status law is viewed as simultaneously of religion and about it, but is also seen as needing to function in relation to society, the state and political institutions. Such dispositions represent an opportunity for the development of a unified Palestinian personal status law through a process which is based on public debate and inclusion rather than one in which the law is marked off as an area for religious specialists with no accountability to members of the society whose lives it will frame.

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Source: Welchman Lynn. Women's Rights and Islamic Family Law: Perspectives on Reform. Zed Books,2004. — 328 p.. 2004

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