Društveni i pravni položaj žene muslimanke u Osmanskoj Bosni
Social and legal position of Moslem women in Ottoman Bosnia

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to use original ottoman documents to present the social and legal position of Moslem women in Ottoman Bosnia, when they were treated as subjects of law pursuant to the Shari’a legal system. The original sources indicate that women in Ottoman Bosnia had the right to dispose of their private property, which they were not obliged to use for the needs of their families, as this obligation was borne by the husband, in compliance with Shari’a law. They could – and often did – endow her property to the community: to build institutions needed by the community, to boost economic development, to build the spiritual ambience of their communities. Local history notes that women of Ottoman Bosnia left behind educational institutions, literary works and a host of prosperous endowments.

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