Polygamy, Policy and Postcolonialism in English Marriage Law

A Critical Feminist Analysis
1. Auflage 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5292-0969-3
Verlag: Bristol University Press

Buch, Englisch, 238 Seiten, Format (B × H): 162 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 510 g

Slaves, mistresses, concubines – the English courts have used these terms to describe polygamous wives in the past, but are they still seen this way today?

Using a critical postcolonial feminist lens, this book provides a contextualized exploration of English legal responses to polygamy. Through the legacies of British imperialism, the book shows how attitudes to polygamy are shaped by indifference and hostility towards its participants. This goes beyond the law, as shown by the stories of women shared throughout the book negotiating their identities and relationships in the UK today.

Through its analysis, the book demonstrates how polygamy and polygamous wives are subjected to imperialist and orientalist discourses which dehumanise them for practising a relationship that has existed for millennia.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Naqvi, Zainab Batul

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Recht, Rechtswissenschaft Allgemein Rechtssoziologie, Rechtspsychologie, Rechtslinguistik
• Rechtswissenschaften Bürgerliches Recht Familienrecht

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction: Polygamy, Law and Women’s Lives
2. Consciousness and Disruption in Critical Postcolonial Feminism
3. Polygamy in England: Tracing Legal Developments
4. History and Conflict of Laws in Overseas Polygamy
5. Tensions in Religion and Culture
6. Complicating Harm and Gender Equality
7. Religion, Recognition and Marriage Law
8. Final Thoughts and Reflections

Über Autor(innen)

Naqvi, Zainab Batul
Zainab Batul Naqvi is Senior Lecturer in Law and Fair Outcomes Champion at De Montfort University.

Zainab Batul Naqvi is Reader in Critical Feminist Legal Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University.