Legal Change and Gender Inequality: Changes in Muslim Law in India.

The distinct family laws governing India's major religious groups saw important changes over the last generation, primarily through judicial initiative and secondarily through legislation. The paper discusses the patterns of change in Muslim matrimonial law, compares the changes in Muslim and Christian law, and identifies the major reasons for these changes. Although the judiciary enjoyed much autonomy in adjudicating Muslim law since India's decolonization, significant judicial reform emerged only from the 1970s when visions in policy communities changed. The growth of mobilization and litigation to promote gender equality made some judges and legislators inclined to provide women easier redress in matrimonial cases. An increased awareness of reforms in some Muslim-majority countries helped judges find justifications for gender-equalizing reform in Islamic normative repertoires. The resulting legal changes addressed only some gender inequalities in family law, although the Indian constitution justified more far-reaching changes. The perceived need for justification in group normative repertoires and the weakness of legal and political support structures restricted gender-equalizing reform. The limited executive commitment to the implementation of such reforms and the presence of community courts as alternative dispute resolution fora further limited the consequences of judicial reform in state courts for gender relations and family life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]