Women in the Ottoman Empire

Women's rights in Ottoman society were not completely abandoned and repressed. During the 17th century, learned scholars referred to as”muftis” were responsible for protecting their rights and ensuring that they were not taken advantage of by men.

The Muftis

Islamic women in the Ottoman Empire were protected by legal rights which were endorsed by a complex court system conformed of judges referred to as qadi (Alfred and Overfield, 64) These qadi were in charge of analyzing each case presented to the court and interpreting it in terms of the Islamic Law. Although they used the Quran and the Hadith to make the decisions, they also took into account the legal opinions or fatwa (Alfred and Overfield, 64) of the muftis (Alfred and Overfield, 65). The muftis play a central role in this decision-making process because as learned scholars, their opinions about a certain case were recorded and could affect the judge's decision. A judge or any other individual could request the muftis' help in legal matters. Depending on the standing of a mufti, his fatwa could overrule the judge's decision in certain cases.

Kayhr al-Din Ramli (1585-1671, from Ramla, Palestine, was a famous mufti who studied in Cairo at al-Azhar which was one of the best schools for Islamic studies. He began writing fatwas as a student in Cairo, but by the 1650s when he was back in Ramla, he had become very famous and respected (especially by the judges) throughout Syria and Palestine. He provided many legal opinions related to the position of women in Islamic society regarding marriage, divorce, and violence. These issues were very important since once a Muslim reached adulthood, he or she was expected to become part of the institution of marriage. Since the Islamic law embraced the idea that "no social good was served by continuing defective or unhappy marriages"(Alfred and Overfield, 65) respected muftis such as Ramli, served as protectors of the legal rights of women. Established rules dictated the way marriages were arranged in Islamic Society. Usually, the marriage was arranged by a legal guardian even before the woman reached puberty, but once she did, she was handed to the husband by the legal guardian (father or grandfather). However, if the marriage was planned when the woman and man were already legal adults, they had a say in the decision. Divorce was also a possibility for unhappily married men and women. The following are the different opinions provided by the mufti Ramli about various issues concerning the position of women in Islamic society. They not only provide an insight into gender relations, but also demonstrate the important role of muftis in resolving legal issues of both men and women.

Arranging Marriages

One of the cases presented to the mufti Ramli was about a girl who, being a minor, was married off by her brother and once she reached adulthood wanted to annul her marriage. However, her husband argued that she wasn't able to do this because her brother "had acted as an agent to her father"(qtd. In Alfred and Overfield,66). She, on the other hand, claimed her brother had married her off while her father was away on a journey. In response to this situation, Ramli expressed that "if her husband proved his claim, then her choice is cancelled"(qtd in Alfred and Overfield,66). However, if her father had authorized the brother to arrange the marriage, then she was not able to annul the marriage. She only had a choice if the marriage was arranged with her brother as a guardian because "only the father's and grandfather's marriage arrangements cannot be cancelled"(qtd. in Alfred and Overfield,66)

Another case regarding the arrangement of marriage was about a virgin who being an adult was kidnapped by her brother who married her off to an "unsuitable man" (qtd. in Alfred and Overfield, 66). In response, Ramli expressed that the father had the right to separate the marriage due to the unsuitability of the husband even if the marriage was consummated. The conditions being, however, that the woman was not pregnant or had given birth to children, or had received the dower. However, if the woman was married off without consenting to it, she could just choose to divorce her husband without her father's intercession since her brother was not a proxy.

Divorce and Annulment

Ramli received a case in which a poor woman was abandoned by her husband and suffered from him leaving her with no support or legal provider. "She therefore asked the Shafi to annul the marriage" (qtd. in Alfred and Overfield, 66) and as proof brought two witnesses to support her claim. Her marriage was annulled and she went on to remarry. However, the first husband appeared again and wanted to cancel the judgment. To this, the mufti answered that once the whole process was done, the annulment was reasonable and nobody could nullify it.

Ramli also received questions that dealt with the issue of consummation. A man claimed that his adult wife, who was supposed to be a virgin, had been "deflowered"1 (qtd. in Alfred and Overfield, 67) which he found out after having intercourse with her several times. Ramli's legal judgment in this case was that the dowry was required and that her personal testimony in reference to her virginity was enough to prove her chastity prior to the marriage. Punishment and the negation of his testimony could also apply to the husband for accusing her without any evidence. If he accused her of adultery, he had to support his argument (is she requested so) by having four witnesses testify. Failure to do so could cause him legal penalties.

Violence Against Women

Ramli was also approached with cases about peasants. A man kidnapped a woman who was married to someone else and took her to the shaykh2 (qtd. in Alfred and Overfiled, 67) of the village who gave them hospitality. There, the man "consummated the marriage" (qtd. in Alfred and Overfield, 67) with the argument that relations existed between him and the woman.This case was considered to be a serious crime and according to Ramli both the kidnapper and the shaykh deserved a beating and extensive imprisonment. Ramli even conceived the idea of execution for these men because they had completely disobeyed God. Ramli also expressed that people associated with this type of crime would be punished by God.

On another legal issue related to violence and women, a legally married person captured a virgin and deflowered her. She was able to escape from him and returned to her family, but then he wanted to forcefully take her away again. Ramli's opinion was that he should be prevented from doing this, but if he claimed shubba 3, there would be no haad4 (qtd. in Alfred and Overfield, 68) punishment and he would just have to pay the dower. If he didn't claim shubba, and his actions were proven, a punishment would have to be applied to him. If the man was a muhsan,5 (qtd. in Kamali) then he would have to be stoned. In the case that he was not a muhsan, he should be flogged. Furthermore, Ramli also added that if the haad was cancelled, a dowry had to be paid.

Sources

Alfred, Andrea and Overfield, James. “Women and Islamic Law in the Ottoman Empire”. The Human Record. Fifth Edition. V.II: Since 1500. Boston, 2005. p. 64-68.

Kamali, Mohammed Hashim. “Punishment In Islamic Law: A Critique Of The Hudud Bill Of Kelantan, Malaysia”. The Fiqh.Org . 2002. March 8, 2007. http://www.lawinislam.com/article.php?id=18