While the subjects and jurisdictions listed for each resource, and even the existence of the titles themselves, are current for the edition reviewed, coverage of multinational resources is ephemeral and will likely vary with subsequent updates. Such is the nature of the dynamic state of global law and legal publishing. The authors will continue to update Multinational Sources Compared accor­dingly so that it is a useful finding aid for years to come.

This is the first mapping of its kind that goes beyond the boundaries of traditional family law to examine the entire legal system of a country to identify the law’s subtle and powerful impact on a woman’s status in her family. Provisions that govern and control a woman’s relationship to her family inform her political, economic and social status. These unequal provisions are found in the laws governing property, inheritance, custody, guardianship, marriage, divorce, residence, citizenship, domicile, age of marriage, guardianship, female genital mutilation (FGM), “husband obedience “ and sex-selective laws, among others. In many countries around the world, family law is a locus of gender discrimination and magnifies the unequal status of women in the public sphere and limit their opportunity to participate in public life, whether political, economic or social.
The GWLP is one of the first efforts to map the panoramic sweep of laws that regulate a woman’s role in the family and society. The first phase of the database covers the 54 African countries; the 19 civil law countries in Latin America* and 32 states of Mexico; the 51 independent states of Europe; Israel; India; and Pakistan. The research on the Middle East is ongoing.


*Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela