Islamic Law, Gender and Social Change in Post-Abolition Zanzibar

298 Pages·2015·4.18 MB·English

by  Elke Stockreiter

IslamicLaw,Gender,andSocialChangein
Post-AbolitionZanzibar
Aftertheabolitionofslaveryin1897,IslamiccourtsinZanzibar(East
Africa) became central institutions where former slaves negotiated
socioeconomic participation. By using difficult-to-read Islamic court
recordsinArabic,ElkeE.Stockreiterreassessestheworkingsofthese
courtsaswellasgenderandsocialrelationsinZanzibarTownduring
Britishcolonialrule(1890–1963).SheshowshowMuslimjudgesmain-
tained their autonomy within the sphere of family law and describes
how they helped advance the rights of women, ex-slaves, and other
marginalised groups. As was common in other parts of the Muslim
world, women usually had to buy their divorce. Thus, Muslim judges
playedimportantrolesaslitigantsnegotiatedmovingupthesocialhier-
archy, with ethnicisation increasingly influencing all actors. Drawing
on these previously unexplored sources, this study investigates how
Muslim judges both mediated and generated discourses of inclusion
andexclusionbasedonsocialstatusratherthangender.
Elke E. Stockreiter is an assistant professor of history at American
University, Washington, DC. She obtained her PhD from the School
ofOrientalandAfricanStudies,UniversityofLondon,andpreviously
held a position as an assistant professor at the University of Iowa.
Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, such as the
JournalofEasternAfricanStudies,andanthologies,suchasDomestic
Violence and the Law in Colonial and Postcolonial Africa, edited by
EmilyBurrill,RichardRoberts,andElizabethThornberry.
To Jim Giblin and Omar S. Khamis,
with admiration and gratitude
Islamic Law, Gender, and Social
Change in Post-Abolition Zanzibar
ELKE E. STOCKREITER
AmericanUniversity,Washington,DC
32AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,ny10013-2473,usa
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(cid:2)C ElkeE.Stockreiter2015
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Firstpublished2015
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Stockreiter,ElkeE.
Islamiclaw,gender,andsocialchangeinpost-abolitionZanzibar/ElkeE.Stockreiter.
pagescm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
isbn978-1-107-04841-6(hardback)
1.Women’srights–Tanzania–Zanzibar–History–19thcentury. 2.Women’s
rights–Tanzania–Zanzibar–History–20thcentury. 3.Civilrights–Tanzania–
Zanzibar–History. 4.Justice,Administrationof(Islamiclaw)–Tanzania–
Zanzibar–History. 5.Islamiclaw–Tanzania–Zanzibar–History.
6.Women–Tanzania–Zanzibar–Socialconditions.
7.Minorities–Tanzania–Zanzibar–Socialconditions.
8.Zanzibar–History–1890–1964. I.Title.
hq1236.5.t34s76 2015
305.4209678(cid:3)1–dc23 2014034104
isbn978-1-107-04841-6Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
urlsforexternalorthird-partyInternetWebsitesreferredtointhispublicationand
doesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchWebsitesis,orwillremain,accurateor
appropriate.
Contents
ListofFiguresandTables page vii
Preface ix
GlossaryandAbbreviations xiii
Introduction 1
parti
1 TheKadhi’sCourtsColonised 27
2 RaceandtheImpartialModernJudiciary 46
3 TheKadhisandGender 64
4 LitigantsandtheKadhi’sCourts 79
5 TheKadhis’AlienationandAutonomy 90
partii
6 Marriage,Materialism,andTemporaryCompliance 109
7 Property,Debt,andInheritance 139
8 BargainingforDivorce 167
partiii
9 TheKadhis,Ethnicity,andthePerpetuationof
Master–SlaveRelations 203
Conclusion 240
v
vi Contents
Appendix DistributionofCases 245
Bibliography 249
Index 269
List of Figures and Tables
MapofNorthwesternIndianOceanandZanzibarIsland pagexvi
Figures
0.1 Coverpageofacasefile,1921 6
0.2 Lastpageoftheminutesofacase,1909 8
1.1 ViewofStoneTown,ZanzibarTown 31
1.2 Liwalisandkadhisofthesultan’sdominionsonthe
announcementoftheabolitionofslavery,1907 36
1.3 Britishcourt 39
2.1 FruitmarketoutsidetheOldFort 46
2.2 Thehighcourtaftertherevolution 48
2.3 StreetscenebehindtheHouseofWonders 49
3.1 Womenatamarketarea 69
5.1 KadhiSh.Muh.ammadSa¯limal-Rawwa¯h.¯ı 92
ʿ
5.2 TheyoungSh. Abdalla¯hS.a¯lih. al-Fars¯ı 104
6.1 Interiorofahouse 133
7.1 Storesellingmanufacturedhouseholditems 155
9.1 Groupoffemaleex-slaves 206
9.2 Imaginedsuria 208
9.3 Legislativecouncil,1960s 230
Tables
0.1 CivilCasesHeardintheSultan’sCourtsinZanzibar
TownPriortotheZanzibarCourtsDecree,1923 12
vii
viii ListofFiguresandTables
0.2 CivilCasesHeardintheSubordinateCourtsinZanzibar
TownaftertheZanzibarCourtsDecree,1923 13
3.1 FemalePlaintiffs 71
4.1 NatureofClaims 81
6.1 DowerPaymentsinZanzibarTown 135
8.1 TypesofDivorceinZanzibarTown 177