An IASH Work-in-Progress seminar, delivered by Dr Qazi Sarah Rasheed (GENDER.ED Postdoctoral Fellow, 2024-25)
Legal Reforms, Agency, and Marital Constraints: The Experiences of Shia Muslim Women in Lucknow
This research explores the intersection of legal reforms and the experiences of Shia Muslim women in oppressive marital situations. While state-led legal reforms assume that women, as autonomous individuals, can engage with legal systems to assert their rights, these reforms—rooted in liberal feminist frameworks—tend to overlook the structural constraints that shape women's agency. Drawing on ethnographic data, this study argues that agency within marital frameworks extends beyond making independent choices, as it is constantly shaped and redefined by the structural constraints women navigate. These constraints—both legal and social—play a crucial role in how women perceive and pursue justice. Focusing on Shia Muslim women in Lucknow, a significant center of Shia scholarship and community life in India, this work highlights the diversity of their experiences, shaped by sectarian, cultural, and socio-economic factors, and examines how these elements influence their engagement with legal systems.
Please join in-person, or click the link below to join the webinar:
https://ed-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/83015772676
Passcode: b1QpaAD7