A Comparative Study of the Status of the Prohibition of Violence against Women in Hanafi Jurisprudence and International Instruments
Keywords:
violence against women, Hanafi jurisprudence, international human rights instruments, comparative lawAbstract
Violence against women is one of the most significant human rights challenges in contemporary societies and assumes complex dimensions in Islamic societies, particularly in regions influenced by Hanafi jurisprudence. As the most widely followed school of Islamic jurisprudence, Hanafi fiqh forms the basis of the legal systems of numerous countries, and its position on violence against women has a direct impact on policymaking and legislation in these countries. The central problem of this study is to examine the position of Hanafi jurisprudence regarding the principal manifestations of violence against women and to determine the extent to which these positions are consistent with, or divergent from, the standards of international human rights instruments. This study was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method and a comparative approach, with reference to authoritative Hanafi jurisprudential texts and international instruments, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Labour Organization Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the Istanbul Convention (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women [CEDAW], 1979; Council of Europe, 2011; International Labour Organization [ILO], 2019; United Nations, 1948, 1989, 1995). The findings of the study indicate that Hanafi jurisprudence adopts positions in important cases such as the prohibition of forced marriage, the prohibition of the buying and selling of women, the unlawfulness of baad-dadan, the prohibition of forced labor, women’s financial independence, and the prohibition of unlawful interference with women’s inheritance, which fully overlap with international instruments. Conversely, in matters such as child marriage, polygyny, and certain restrictions based on the institution of guardianship, differences can be observed between the two systems; these differences arise from divergences in definitions and approaches rather than from a conflict in fundamental objectives. The conclusion is that the internal capacities of Hanafi jurisprudence, including the principles of negating harm, removing hardship, and requiring consent, provide a broad possibility for alignment with international standards concerning the prohibition of violence against women.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Mohammad Maroof Kheirkhah (Author); Karim Salehi (Corresponding author); Mohammad Reza Niyazi (Author)
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