Divorce Settlement (Egypt)

This divorce settlement reveals the dissolution of a marriage between two parties, Ghaniyya bint Ḥasan and Joseph ibn Tsedakah (here, Ṣedaqa). Ghaniyya is granted custody of their child Ibrahīm, and Joseph will receive visitation rights and pay child support to a Salāma who has not been identified (he might have been Ghaniyya’s brother). Strikingly, the document forbids Ghaniyya from going to Muslim courts for legal action against Joseph. Geniza documents reflect a trend of Jewish women appealing to Muslim courts, which generally showed more leniency toward them. Here, we cannot be sure if Ghaniyya has already used the Muslim court system in this process or if the trend was so common that they suspect she may do so in the future.