Acknowledgements
I could not have completed this research project without the generous support and encouragement of numerous people. In Tunisia, the patient staff of CEMAT supported me in obtaining a research permit. I am thankful to the Ministry of Justice, who allowed me to conduct research in their court, as well as the Public Prosecutor and both Family Judges at the Court of First Instance in Ben Arous. I cannot thank the kind staff of the court office enough for their help and for making me feel at home. To the lady referred to here as Karima and her husband, I am especially indebted.
I owe a great deal to the lady called Besma in this book and her family who shared laughter, tears and some fantastic stories (âgive me a worm and Iâll eat you upâ). To them and to the other families who spent time with me (especially those who answered my endless questions about their family trees) I am grateful.
The help of the judges and lawyers I interviewed was invaluable, as were my conversations with litigants who courageously shared their experiences with me. Souhayma Ben Achour graciously allowed me to access a wealth of documents that were immensely useful. CREDIF also provided helpful information. I am equally indebted to my Arabic teachers at the Bourguiba School, as well as the graduate student of law who helped me to understand the language of the Personal Status Code and a great deal more.
During my time in Tunisia, I was fortunate to have the support of many friends, both Tunisian and expatriate. Of these, particular thanks to Awatef and Sofi, who endured my early attempts to speak Arabic, and to Anja, Carlos, David and Aude who provided much needed support.
I am grateful to have been surrounded by a wonderful group of colleagues at LSE. I would especially like to thank Gustavo Barbosa, Irene Calis, Fenella Cannell, Hakem Rustom and Michael Scott, as well as all those who provided helpful comments at the writing-up seminars and at the Friday seminar. I am greatly indebted to my supervisors, Laura Bear and Martha Mundy, who provided intellectual guidance and many other forms of support. I would also like to thank Yan Hinrichsen for being as friendly as she is efficient. Outside LSE, I thank Maaike Voorhoeve for countless discussions about Tunisian divorce law and Arzoo Osanloo for her insightful comments.
Numerous good friends and family have supported me through the PhD process. Although I cannot name all of them here, I would especially like to thank Claire and James for their unconditional friendship and Rachel for relighting the creative fires when necessary. In Geneva, I would like to thank Glenn and Folkaboum for their friendship and the music.
Since completing my PhD thesis, I have been grateful for the opportunity to develop my work via presentations at various conferences and publications; I am grateful to all those who attended and have generously provided comment and feedback on my work.
I offer special thanks to Webster University Geneva, in particular, to our Director and my Head of Department, Francesco Arese Visconti for Websterâs generous support of my research and writing. To my colleagues and friends, Vlad and Julianna, I thank you for the opportunity to teach anthropology and gender and for all of your support. I am eternally grateful to my students; teaching you has taught me so much and these words were written with you in mind.
I am grateful to all those at Brill who patiently supported me during the writing process and to the editors and anonymous reviewers who provided helpful and constructive feedback.
To Guillaume, who has lived this experience with me, I could not be more grateful (bllb). Maxime and Antoine graced my life with their presence and inspired me to finish âinventingâ this book. Leo, my golden retriever, both arrived and departed, providing many hours of gentle company curled up by my side as I wrote. To Granny who lent me patience and a love of words, but sadly did not see this finished. I also owe thanks to Maximeâs mamie and papi for babysitting and literally rebuilding the house around me as I wrote.
Finally, Mum and Dad. Words cannot express how grateful I am for your continual support, of so many kinds. I dedicate this book to you.
The field research for this PhD was partially funded by a Sutasoma Award from the Royal Anthropological Institute to whom I am extremely grateful.