The Culture Of Arab Marriage Relations

By Debra Gibson


The most basic unit of the society is the family which is started by the wedding. This has made unions be treated with high levels of respect. In making this realized, different communities have their ways of conducting marriages. The Arab marriage culture is one of the societies which have maintained their respect for unions.

Selection of couples is a task of parents. The sons parents will identify the perfect match for their son. The son may have an option of giving a hint on the type they will prefer. The parents of the daughter, on the other hand, are allowed to accept any advances made by any family in as much as the prospective man is right for their daughter.

In ensuring that there will be no misunderstandings between these two families, there is a need of formulating a marriage contract. Of the many contents of this agreement is the pride price to be paid. Since it is a gift of appreciation to the daughters parents from the groom, its value is not fixed rather it depends on upon the understanding of these two families.

In this contract also, the roles of the groom are well stipulated. He is always to be the family head and ensure that he provides the needs of his family just like how it has been ever since. On the other hand, the wife is viewed as the caretaker of the house whereby she ensures everything in the house is in order. She has the task of making the husband comfortable at home.

A ceremony will always mark any marriage. In the service, people come together to enjoy the new bonding formed between these two individuals. The couples are also given some private time where the groom breaks the hymen of his bride. The blood stains are then displayed to the parents and the public too. This, however, has turned to be optional to many these days.

In marriage life, the Arab woman is taught to respect the husband in all the decisions that are to be made. It is the role of a woman to ensure that the man is pleased with anything happening in the house. She is not supposed to go anywhere or receive any visitors without the consent of their husband. The choice of wife to be working relies on the man.

Polygamy is accepted in Arab marriages where the man can marry a maximum of 4 women. The wife is expected to take the co-wives and love them. In many cases, this has never been the case since these wives are always in bad blood with each other and hatred replaces the love expected of them.

Though rare, cases of divorce exist in these marriages. Upon a divorce, the wife is not allowed to leave alone and thus goes back to her parents house or any other male family member. There is a divorce fee stipulated in the marriage agreement that the husband pays. In addition to this, the husband has to keep on catering for the wifes maintenance. The children remain with the father as stipulated by the law.




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