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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Representation, Structure and Agency: Divorce in the French Soudan during the Early Twentieth Century
Author:Roberts, Richard
Year:1999
Periodical:The Journal of African History
Volume:40
Issue:3
Pages:389-410
Language:English
Geographic terms:Mali
France
Subjects:colonialism
divorce
customary courts
Women's Issues
History and Exploration
Law, Human Rights and Violence
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Historical/Biographical
Cultural Roles
Marital Relations and Nuptiality
Law, Legal Issues, and Human Rights
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/183620
Abstract:This article examines the relationship between the establishment of a new system of native courts in the French Soudan (Mali) in 1905 and how African women responded. French colonial administrators charged with overseeing the operation of these courts were surprised with the number of women seeking divorce. Two different interpretations of why African women sought divorce from these new courts circulated during the early colonial period. One explained the high incidence of women seeking divorce in the wretched condition of women in marriage; the other interpreted divorce as undermining the authority of the household head and the stability of the family. The article advances the concept of 'landscapes of power' to describe and interpret the constitution of forces and the emergence of opportunities that led women to seek divorce from the new native courts. It argues that the incidence of divorce in the new courts' register of cases should be understood as part of the wider changes occurring throughout the French Soudan as part of the linked set of transformations associated with the transition to colonial rule. The argument is illustrated by a case brought before the 'tribunal de province' of Segou in October 1905. Notes, ref., sum.
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