This book is a socio-legal interdisciplinary study on gender and diversity in multicultural societies of Europe. It uses secondary data to discuss the broad experiences of migrant single mothers/women in Europe. Second, it includes narratives of experiences across the life course of single Danish-Pakistani women, starting from their pre-migration background to their elderly lives. The author uses an analytical framework used of relational collectivism and individualism, the former referring to the understanding of oneself as connected and interdependent to the family, and the latter referring to values of independence, personal interest and achievements. She uses the term “mélange familism� to explain a new family type that combines both relational-collectivist and individualist elements. A major part of this work is its deliberation of mélange familism and processes of social and legal practices in the everyday lives of single mothers. Crucially, the book demonstrates that social and legal traditions are not static, but are a product of improvisation. It makes a significant contribution by providing an alternate picture of single women/mothers as against the stereotypical image of ‘passive, subordinate Muslim women’. It also contributes to gender and family studies by showing the increasing establishment of single-mother-headed households as a source of new possibilities; a new type or form of family construction, and not just the tragic residue of a broken two-parent family. 

This book offers an overview of the history and development of civil society in three major nations of South Asia – Pakistan, India and Bangladesh – from colonial times to the present. It examines the liberalization of civil society since the 1980s, the needs it created for civil action, the professionalization of civil society organizations, and the extent to which civil society may benefit society at large in the context of local, national and global transformations in the economy, political regime and ideology. The reader will find new insights on the interaction between the liberalization of multifaceted civil societies in the three countries, presenting contrasts such as restrictions put on women’s organizations or labour unions and acceptance of religious organizations’ activities. The volume looks at forms of transfer of civil society models, representation and democratic legitimacy of civil society organizations such as nongovernmental organizations, government organized NGOs and faith-based organizations, along with the structuring of civil society through legal frames as well as female, religious, and ethnic mobilizations around language and literature. Using wide-ranging empirical data and theoretical analyses, it deals with civil society issues relating to human rights and political challenges, justice, inequality, empowerment, and the role of bureaucracy, women’s movements, and ethnic and linguistic minorities. It also presents early responses to the Covid-19 crisis in 2020 which created significant pressure on the states and on civil society. This book will be useful to scholars and researchers of political studies, development studies, sociology, public policy and governance, law and human rights, as also to professionals in think tanks, civil society activists and NGOs.

This is a detailed, critical study of the reforms which have been made in recent years to the law in the State of Pakistan with the ostensible objective of bringing it into accord with the requirements of Islam. Special emphasis is given to the period from 1977 when General Zia ul Haque adopted a period of Islamization. This is a field of investigation of considerable importance both for the advancement of legal and political theory and for practical purposes, especially as regards human rights. The author, trained both in Pakistan law and the concepts and practice of Islamic law, has been able to advance significantly our understanding of the doctrinal developments documented in this book. First published in 1994.

This is a detailed, critical study of the reforms which have been made in recent years to the law in the State of Pakistan with the ostensible objective of bringing it into accord with the requirements of Islam. Special emphasis is given to the period from 1977 when General Zia ul Haque adopted a period of Islamization. This is a field of investigation of considerable importance both for the advancement of legal and political theory and for practical purposes, especially as regards human rights. The author, trained both in Pakistan law and the concepts and practice of Islamic law, has been able to advance significantly our understanding of the doctrinal developments documented in this book. First published in 1994.