Women's voices are brought to the fore in this comprehensive analysis of women and social change in North Africa. Focusing on grass-roots perspectives, readers will gain a rare glimpse into how both the intentional and unintentional actions of men and women contribute to societal transformation. Most chapters are based on extensive field work that illuminates the real-life experiences, advocacy, and agency of women in the region. The book considers frequently less studied issues including migration, legal changes, oral and written law, Islamic feminism, and grass-roots activism. It also looks at the effectiveness of shelters for abused women and the changes that occurred in the wake of the 2011 Arab uprisings, as well as challenging conventional notions of feminist agency by examining Salafi women's life choices. Recommended for students and scholars, as well as international development professionals with an interest in the MENA region.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Egyptian women gained the unique right to divorce their husbands unilaterally through a procedure called khul'. This has been a controversial application; notwithstanding attempts to present the law as being grounded in Islamic law, opponents claim that khul' is a privileged women's law, and a western conspiracy aimed at destroying Egyptian family life and, by extension, Egyptian society.
In Khul' Divorce in Egypt, Nadia Sonneveld explores the nature of the public debates-including the portrayal of khul' in films and cartoons-while an examination of the application of khul' in the courts and everyday life relates and compares this debate to the actual implementation of the procedure. She makes it clear that the points of controversy bear little resemblance to the lives of the lower-middle-class women who apply for khul'; they merely reflect profound changes in the institutions of marriage and family.

Women's voices are brought to the fore in this comprehensive analysis of women and social change in North Africa. Focusing on grass-roots perspectives, readers will gain a rare glimpse into how both the intentional and unintentional actions of men and women contribute to societal transformation. Most chapters are based on extensive field work that illuminates the real-life experiences, advocacy, and agency of women in the region. The book considers frequently less studied issues including migration, legal changes, oral and written law, Islamic feminism, and grass-roots activism. It also looks at the effectiveness of shelters for abused women and the changes that occurred in the wake of the 2011 Arab uprisings, as well as challenging conventional notions of feminist agency by examining Salafi women's life choices. Recommended for students and scholars, as well as international development professionals with an interest in the MENA region.