ABSTRACT
For a Christian woman who needs to change her denomination to be able to divorce her husband in Egypt, for a Russian Jew forbidden to marry within Israel because he is not considered a “proper” Jew by rabbinical authorities, for a Hindu woman who is disinherited (by her father) in favor of her male siblings or nephews, or for an Indian Muslim woman who is entitled to inherit only half the share of her brother, these questions are of utmost significance, as they carry substantive financial, legal and emotional implications. In personal status systems, the central authority incorporates religious laws and institutions of certain ethno-religious communities into its legal system and takes it upon itself to apply and enforce these laws through its agencies. People do not silently accept the restrictions and disabilities imposed upon their rights by state-sanctioned religious norms and institutions.
