Women’s Right to Choose a Spouse: In the Hanafi School of Islamic Jurisprudence

Introduction: According to the sacred provisions of Islamic sharia and the Hanafi School of Islamic jurisprudence (Madhab), a woman has the right to choose herself a spouse. When a woman becomes a widow, this right is given to her even more often because they know more. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to clarify the right of a woman to choose her spouse. It clarifies all the conditions and circumstances according to the Hanafi School, in which a woman can choose a spouse for herself. Methodology: The doctrinal research methodology and a descriptive, explanatory, and analytical research approach are used in this work. In this study, the rules and regulations of the Hanafi School of Islamic jurisprudence will be analyzed in detail to support the research study. It is worth mentioning that this part of the research is entirely based on library sources. References are mostly primary and secondary sources. The primary sources include the Afghan civil code and the secondary sources include jurisprudential textbooks, scholarly published and unpublished journal articles, law reports, and online websites related to the research area. Findings: According to the Hanafi School of Islamic jurisprudence, a woman is not given the right to choose her husband in the pre-puberty stage. In the remaining two stages (the puberty stage and the stage of widowhood), a woman can choose her own spouse and no one can take that right away from her. Even if a guardian (Wali) marries a girl who is too young, the marriage can be ended when the girl reaches puberty. She can do this by taking the matter to the competent court. Unique contribution of theory and practice: Theoretically, this work is very useful in contributing to the existing body of literature of knowledge. Practically, this work identifies the circumstances in which a woman is allowed to choose her own spouse. Each and every woman will know her bona fide right to choose a husband. On the other hand, society will never force a woman to marry without her own consent.