Cultural Practices In Arab Marriage

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.

Additionally and perhaps the most important of it all the contract outlines the roles of the bride and the groom in the household. The Arab society follows the traditional concepts of marriage where the husband is the head of the family and provider too. The wife is a homemaker who will ensure that the husband and the children are well taken care of by providing all that they need including good food.

A ceremony marks every marriage. At this point people make merry. There is also the long awaited moment of checking the brides purity. In this case, her hymen is broken by the groom in the presence of their mothers. The stains are then displayed to the public. These days this has not been a priority for many as it is viewed to be optional.

In their matrimonial life, an Arab wife is expected to be very submissive. The husbands decision is always final. It is normal that the woman remains indoors at all times and has to ask for permission in case she wants to go somewhere or wants to invite any guests. It relies on the understanding of these couples for the wife to work or not.

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.




About the Author: