Conference: “‘Sharī’a and gender,” Institute of Languages ​​and Cultures of the Mediterranean and the Middle East of the CSIC, September 28, 2021 @ 1:00 pm

The conference will be broadcast live on our YouTube channel  in Spanish and English .

Amira Sonbol’s conference will be dedicated to the judicial records of the ‘sharia’ and Islamic jurisprudence ( fiqh) as sources of women’s history. Taking the topic of sexuality in Islamic sources as a starting point, the conference will show how studies on this question stimulate further studies which in turn are providing a greater understanding of the impact of the state and modernity on the lives of women as well. as new instruments to challenge state control over gender and women’s issues. Second, his talk will show how various sources can be used for historical research beyond what is normative. The court records of the ‘sharia’ and fatwas are often examined to discuss legal issues. In this point, Sonbol will try to expand their use and show how they could be valuable in discovering various aspects of women’s lives and gender relations. Through Amira Sonbol’s talk we will also be able to follow her own evolution as an academic and activist working for women’s rights.

Amira Sonbol has a PhD in History from Georgetown University and a Master’s in Arabic Studies from the American University of Cairo. She specializes in the history of modern Egypt, Islamic history and law, women, gender, and Islam. She is the author of several books, including The New Mamluks: Egyptian Society and Modern Feudalism ; Women, the Family and Divorce Laws in Islamic History; The Creation of a Medical Profession in Egypt: 1800-1922; The Memoirs of Abbas Hilmi II: Sovereign of Egypt; Women of the Jordan: Islam, Labor and Law; Beyond the Exotic: Muslim Women’s Histories . Professor Sonbol is editor-in-chief of HAWWA: the Journal of Women of the Middle East and the Islamic World published by EJ Brill and co-editor ofIslam and Christian-Muslim Relations , a quarterly magazine co-published with Selly Oak Colleges (UK). She teaches courses on the History of Modern Egypt, Women and Islamic Law and Civilization.