Workshop Synopsis

This workshop explores the questions of emotion and morality through the lens of family laws. Personal status laws or family laws have been central components of many Muslim communities. These laws regulate areas where morality and emotions play a significant role—the family. They inform issues pertaining to marriage, divorce, and guardianship. They define which spaces do we belong to, and how one should behave. Many of these legal works are grounded on specific socio-historical and jurisprudential traditions. However, despite their “moral roots”, these laws often function as social, political, and cultural roots that frame, if not freeze, narratives about women and girls. Although these family law derive their legitimacy from Islamic jurisprudential traditions, they also have influences emerging from colonialism and other Abrahamic religions. Through this workshop, participants will explore specific historical, religious, and judicial roots that influence family laws, with specific reference to the Abrahamic religions. Through looking at specific case studies, participants will engage with the questions of morality and emotion that emerge within these legal contexts, and how these questions influence the way we see, engage with, and react to issues of gender violence and equality. Specific philosophical standpoints on morality, objectivity, and emotions will also be discussed in light of these texts. This workshop does not require any previous knowledge of legal texts, philosophy, religious history.