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Religious Pluralism, Personal Laws and Gender Equality in Asia: Their History of Conflict and the Prospects for Accommodation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2015

Juliette G. Duara
Juliette G. Duara*
Affiliation:
National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law
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Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between three religio-legal traditions and their interactions and responses to the concept of gender equality as reflected in their inheritance practices. Specifically, questions of accommodation and authenticity will be explored through the Hindu, Confucian and Islamic traditions as they exist in contemporary India, Singapore and Hong Kong. While the primary focus will be on the current state of law and practice, the paper will begin personal laws during the period of British colonization. The impact of British jurisprudence will be recounted as background to understanding the contemporary state of the three traditions. For India and Singapore this history will include the impact of their independence movements on their personal laws. Hong Kong's history will include the impact of the territory's return to China.

Keywords

comparative legal historygender equalityinheritance lawlegal pluralism
Type
Research Article
Information
Asian Journal of Comparative Law , Volume 7 , 2012 , pp. 1 - 27
Copyright
Copyright © Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore 2012

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