More About Arab Marriage Cultures

By Debra Gibson


The marriage institution is a very vital aspect of community life in the world every day. A good marriage guarantees a healthy society. This makes unions be treated with very high dignity by many communities in the world including the Arab community. In this society special events unfold in ensuring that Arab marriage is successful.

As a usual practice, all marriages start with the selection of these couples . Most Arabs practice arranged marriages where the father will choose for their son the perfect woman to marry. This son will, however, give suggestions on the choice. On the women part, her parents have the mandate of accepting any approach from any man they feel 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.

The contract also lies down the roles of this two in the matrimonial union. The fundamental function of the groom is to head all the house activities and also provide for the family needs. The wife is the homemaker. She will ensure that everything in the house is in order. She has to make sure the food is ready, the husbands clothes are clean and many other house chores.

The ceremony then follows after the marriage contract has been drafted. The ceremony is marked by many cultural dances, eating and drinking. The most vital part is where the couples are allowed in a private place with the two mothers of this couple as witnesses, and the groom breaks the hymen. The blood stains are displayed to the public as a show of the brides purity. However, it is no longer a must for the public to see this these days.

The matrimonial life is depicted by the submissive nature of the Arab wife. They are taught to respect their husbands and accept their decisions as the final say in any argument or matter in their house. It is the husband whether to agree or not to concern his wife working. Additionally, the man should be made aware of what the wife is doing or where she intends to go.

The religion followed by the Arabs (Islam) favors polygamy in marriage. Several reasons may call for the husband to think of marrying another wife. It is always expected that the relationship between co-wives is that if love and understanding. This is rarely the case as they always dislike one another in most cases.

In the event of a divorce, the wife is supposed to go back to her parents house or any other male family member since the Arab culture does not allow any woman to live alone. The children are, however, left with the father. The husband is expected to provide maintenance fee still to the family, and a divorce fee is also paid with regards to the marriage contract.




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