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Sharia Law

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Intersection between Shari' a and Reproductive and/or Sexual Health and Human Rights
OLAIDE ABBAS GBADAMOSI*

Shari 'a has become an important feature of the legal system of the Muslim world with its attendant implications for reproductive health and human rights. Like other religious doctrines, Islam has been used to legitimize conflicting positions on gender and reproductive choice. In some cases, women were being denied rights by those who claimed to be acting in the name of 'Islamic' laws. some of which are incompatible with internationally recognized human rights. This article identifies selected sexual and reproductive health issues at the intersection ofreproductive rights and Shari 'a e.g. adultery (zina), inheritance, child marriages, polygny, and violence against women and considers how their shared concerns may prompt actions leading to the elimination of religious and cultural barriers imposed by Shari 'a which impede the implementation of international legal frameworks and consensus documents on reproductive rights. Nigeria is selected as a case study on the nature of implementation of Shari 'a law and reproductive rights. The article calls for more progressive interpretations of Islamic law to be codified in legislative reforms and/or seek to interpret Islamic law in harmony with international human rights standards and calls for the implementation of Shari 'a that would promote respect for human rights.
J believe that if Islam is interpreted and applied correctly, we can have totally egalitarian laws for women and strike punishments such as stoning and cutting hands from out of law books.!

*

Senior Lecturer and Head, Department of Public and International Law, College of Law, Osun State University, Nigeria. S Ebadi of Iran, 'Arab Women Urged to Advocate for Rights Post-Revolution. ' interview with the Nobe l Peace Prize Laureate.

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