Banjul Muslims and the Islamic Court
By Walter Hawthorne and Bala Saho
Women & Gender in the Court
The establishment of the Muslim court by the British colonial government marked a shift for women in customary practices and dispensation of justice. Pre-colonial regional law practices tended to favor male parties. For example, in Gambian customary practice a judge could declare divorce solely on the husband’s account without ever consulting the wife. Customary practices that seemingly disadvantaged women were transformed for two main reasons. First, as a British civil servant, the Qadi (Muslim judge) was often educated according to European notions of women’s rights. Second, the Muslim court introduced European law structures that allowed women to represent themselves. In the Muslim court women were not only allowed to bring their grievances with their husbands to the court, they were expected to share their experiences publically with the Qadi. These changes created a space that allowed women to be heard directly, rather than indirectly through the representation of a male family member.