%A - MUHAMMAD S. UMAR
%J Aljamiah Vol 45, No 1 (2007)
%T GENDER ISSUES IN APPLICATION OF
ISLAMIC LAW IN NIGERIA
%X This essay explores gender issues in the contemporary application of  Islamic
law in the Muslim majority-states of  northern Nigeria. Brief  political
background helps to explain the shari> ‘a codes enacted by the legislatures
of  the states, drawing largely from the classical formulations of  Maliki
school of  Islamic law. Women were among the first to be prosecuted and
sentenced to death by stoning for the offence of  zina> . To provide effective
legal defense for the accused women, their lawyers and activists for women
human rights had to argue in Islamic law before they could convince Shari> ‘a
Courts of  Appeal to overturn the sentences of  death by stoning and set the
women free. In the process, women activists learned a lot about the classical
formulations of  Maliki school of  Islamic law, where they discovered the
rich flexibility of Islamic thought, and that has empowered them to
articulate Islamic criticisms against gender bias in the recently enacted shari> ‘a
codes.
%D 2007
%K Gender Issues, Application of  Islamic Law, Maliki School
of Thought, Nigeria
%L digilib9795