Islam and Women's Income

This book examines the interrelationship between law, culture, patriarchy and religion in the context of contemporary Bangladesh. Taking a socio-legal approach, it analyses the changing nature of the dowry practice and its relation to women's increasing paid labour force activity. Despite anti-dowry legislation, it is argued here that the dowry system continues in the form of the appropriation of wives' income. The work calls for legal recognition of this action and the amendment of the Dowry Prohibition Act as a result of the changing social realities that are taking place in the lives of Bangladeshi women.

Introduction; Theoretical and Conceptual Issues; Equality Debates in the West; Equality Within Islam: Formal and Substantive; Methodology; Overview of Remaining Chapters; Women and Islam in Bangladesh; The Politics of Islam in Bangladeshi Society; Women, Islam and Society in Bangladesh; Women in the Popular Books on Islam in Bangladesh; Misinterpretation of Islam and Husband-Wife Relationships in Bangladesh; Muslim Family Law in Bangladesh; Dower and Maintenance in Bangladesh; Divorce; Polygamy; Child Custody and Guardianship; Inheritance Law; CEDAW, Islamic Law and Women in Bangladesh; CEDAW and Islamic Law; CEDAW and Muslim Countries; CEDAW, Islam and Politics in Bangladesh; Same Responsibilities Between Men and Women; Dowry, Women and Law in Bangladesh; The Dowry System in South Asia; The Emergence of Dowry in Bangladesh; Men's Expectations from Their Wives or Wives' Family During Marriage; Dowry and Law in Bangladesh; Women, Income and Dowry in Bangladesh. ; ; Women and Employment; Women's Income and Dowry in Bangladesh; The Strategies That Husbands Employ to Control Wives' Income; Conclusion