Policing Egyptian Women: Sex, Law, and Medicine in Khedival Egypt

This book looks at the formation of the modern (pre-colonial) Egyptian State in the late 19th century through the lens of police and other official interactions with women, particularly non-elite women where their sexual behavior is concerned. Kozma (Islamic and Middle Eastern studies, Hebrew U.) focuses on women at the margins--slaves, prostitutes and those who had sex before or outside of marriage--because the way the community policed these women registers changes in the over-all relationship between the state and society. The first two chapters focus on the institutions of law and medicine and how these affected traditional family life. The latter three are devoted to those mentioned categories of marginal female identity. Kozma draws heavily on the detailed police records kept in Khedival Egypt, which she argues offers an unparalleled lens on the emerging bureaucracy. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)