Polygamy in the Palestinian territories
Encyclopedia
Marriage in the Palestinian territories deals with the marriage law and customs in the Palestinian territories
, which consist of the West Bank
and the Gaza Strip
.
Marriage law for Muslims in the Palestinian territories is governed by customary law, of the Hanafi school, which explicitly permits polygyny
, which is the practice of a husband being permitted to have more than one wife. However, a woman can specify in the marriage
contract whether or not her husband can take multiple wives during the couple's marriage, and if the husband does, she is free to petition for a divorce. There are also the classical injunctions that a man must treat all co-wives equitably and provide them with separate dwellings, and a man must declare his social status in the marriage contract. Polyandry
, whereby a wife has more than one husband, is not permitted.
Recognised Christian communities, as do other recognised communities, apply their own personal status laws for community members in their own tribunals, and do not permit polygamous unions.
Personal status issues of Muslims in the Palestinian territories are determined as follows: for Muslims in the West Bank - the 1976 Jordanian law continues to govern personal status issues; and for Muslims in the Gaza Strip - personal status law issued during the Egyptian administration of the Strip apply. Both of these laws permitted polygamous unions. Muslims in East Jerusalem
, which is claimed by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, have recourse to the law applied in the Israeli shari`a system, which comprises the Ottoman Law of Family Rights as amended by Israeli legislation since 1948, and cannot form polygamous unions as Israeli law
does not permit any polygamous unions.
In the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian-issued Law of Family Rights set puberty as the minimum age of marriage with no marriage allowed for a female aged under 9 or a male aged under 12. The Palestinian Qadi al-Quda issued an administrative decision in 1995 raising these ages to a minimum of 15 for the female and 16 for the male, as in the Jordanian law. All ages are calculated according to the lunar calendar. Marriage registration is mandatory but failure to register does not invalidate the marriage.
Work is reported to be proceeding on the text of a Palestinian personal status law.
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
, which consist of the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
and the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
.
Marriage law for Muslims in the Palestinian territories is governed by customary law, of the Hanafi school, which explicitly permits polygyny
Polygyny
Polygyny is a form of marriage in which a man has two or more wives at the same time. In countries where the practice is illegal, the man is referred to as a bigamist or a polygamist...
, which is the practice of a husband being permitted to have more than one wife. However, a woman can specify in the marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
contract whether or not her husband can take multiple wives during the couple's marriage, and if the husband does, she is free to petition for a divorce. There are also the classical injunctions that a man must treat all co-wives equitably and provide them with separate dwellings, and a man must declare his social status in the marriage contract. Polyandry
Polyandry
Polyandry refers to a form of marriage in which a woman has two or more husbands at the same time. The form of polyandry in which a woman is married to two or more brothers is known as "fraternal polyandry", and it is believed by many anthropologists to be the most frequently encountered...
, whereby a wife has more than one husband, is not permitted.
Recognised Christian communities, as do other recognised communities, apply their own personal status laws for community members in their own tribunals, and do not permit polygamous unions.
Personal status issues of Muslims in the Palestinian territories are determined as follows: for Muslims in the West Bank - the 1976 Jordanian law continues to govern personal status issues; and for Muslims in the Gaza Strip - personal status law issued during the Egyptian administration of the Strip apply. Both of these laws permitted polygamous unions. Muslims in East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
, which is claimed by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, have recourse to the law applied in the Israeli shari`a system, which comprises the Ottoman Law of Family Rights as amended by Israeli legislation since 1948, and cannot form polygamous unions as Israeli law
Israeli law
Israeli law is a mixed legal system reflecting the diverse history of the territory of the State of Israel throughout the last hundred years , as well as the legal systems of its major religious communities...
does not permit any polygamous unions.
In the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian-issued Law of Family Rights set puberty as the minimum age of marriage with no marriage allowed for a female aged under 9 or a male aged under 12. The Palestinian Qadi al-Quda issued an administrative decision in 1995 raising these ages to a minimum of 15 for the female and 16 for the male, as in the Jordanian law. All ages are calculated according to the lunar calendar. Marriage registration is mandatory but failure to register does not invalidate the marriage.
Work is reported to be proceeding on the text of a Palestinian personal status law.