Although the current number of Muslims in the world is unknown, their population is estimated to be 1.2 billion, approximately 25 percent of the global population. The increase in the Islamic population has implications for resolving low birth rate, ...
Although the current number of Muslims in the world is unknown, their population is estimated to be 1.2 billion, approximately 25 percent of the global population. The increase in the Islamic population has implications for resolving low birth rate, which is currently a severe social issue in Korea. This is not simply because Islamic countries encourage childbirth, but because Korea continues to exhibit low birth rate despite the country’s efforts to promote childbirth. Childbirth generally takes place through marriage, and thus an accurate understanding of family law in Islamic countries should be prioritized. Legislative research on marriage and divorce in Islamic countries can provide implications for Korean law by finding the legal principles in those countries that drive high birth rates. Therefore, the goal of this study is to find implications toward solutions to address Korea’s low birth rate through research on Islamic marriage and divorce laws. Additionally, Egypt, whose family law is the most characteristically Islamic among the Muslim nations, is strengthening the legal status of women by implementing a system of divorce called khul. This study also seeks methodological implications for strengthening the legal status of women in marriage and divorce within Korea’s family law system by researching Egypt’s amendment efforts during the implementation process of the khul system, which is judged to have improved the legal status of women in Muslim countries.
To this end, this study has examined the stipulations of marriage and divorce in Sharia, the most important system of laws and courts in Islamic countries, since the most commonly known elements of Islamic family law are polygamy, dowry, and problems with unilateral divorce and violence by men.
vvWomen in Islamic countries are guaranteed birthright by the Quran. This guarantee is not simple, however, because women are considered lower beings than men. It can be interpreted as a guarantee because they give birth to and raise children. Women are individuals who possess therights of childbirth and childrearing, and childbirth and childrearing need economic and supportive assistance. This is meaningful because it is an important cause of the high birth rates of Islamic countries.
In reality, the legal status of women in Islamic countries is extremely inferior. A man can demand a divorce from a woman with simply a unilateral declaration of will, and is also guaranteed the right by the Quran to punish his wife as a last resort for deviant behavior. However, another examination of the Quran shows that this is because women’s status was distorted to benefit men through a faulty interpretation the Quran and Sharia law, rather than because a woman’s status in Islamic countries were inferior to that of a man from the outset. It may be difficult to demolish these long-time customs, but the implementation of the khul system demonstrates that it is not impossible. A proper interpretation of the Quran and Sharia law will be an effective strategy for restoring the legal status of women to a level footing with men in Islamic countries, and has sufficient implications from a methodological perspective for improving the legal status of women