Islamic Law and Gender-Based Violence: An Empirical Analysis of Sharia Court Responses in Kaduna State

Gender-based violence, encompassing domestic violence, forced marriage, marital rape, and female genital cutting, presents Islamic courts with questions about the boundaries between permissible marital discipline under classical jurisprudence and prohibited harm under contemporary Islamic human rights discourse. In Kaduna State, where Sharia courts adjudicate family matters in Muslim communities, the empirical examination of how such courts address gender-based violence complaints fills a critical research gap. This study empirically analyses Sharia court responses to gender-based violence complaints in Kaduna State. A mixed empirical methodology is applied to forty-five gender-based violence-related Sharia court files from Kaduna from 2015 to 2022, complemented by interviews with fifteen judges, twenty female survivors, and eight women's rights organisations. Case file analysis codes judicial classification of the violence, doctrinal reasoning applied, outcomes for complainants, referral to welfare services, and sentence or remediation orders. Quantitative data are analysed with chi-square tests in SPSS, while qualitative case analysis examines judicial reasoning patterns. Available gender and Islamic law literature from North West Nigeria identifies the Quranic Daraba verse as a persistent doctrinal site of interpretive tension in domestic violence adjudication. The reformist Islamic feminist jurisprudence of scholars like Amina Wadud and Khaled Abou El Fadl and the constitutional rights framework provide analytical reference points. Findings are expected to reveal inconsistent judicial responses with inadequate survivor protection. Recommendations address judicial training, survivor-centred procedures, and integration of reformed Islamic jurisprudence on gender violence. Keywords: gender-based violence, Islamic law, Sharia courts, Kaduna State, family law.