![]() “It’s because of arranged marriages and the expectations that Qatari women have of their husbands that result in high divorce rates,” he added. Furthermore, Haji sees arranged marriages as forced or undesired marriages. However, Haji is only addressing arranged marriages among family members, which are most common in Qatar. “Honestly, I don’t think it’s a good idea because there’s a higher risk of diseases and if the marriage fails then both families will grow apart from each other,” he says. “The more we farther from our religion, the more we are not aware of our rights.”īut for Mohamed Haji, a 19-year-old freshman in Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, arranged marriages are just not right. And if feelings develop, then the union can go further. However, “we are not following our religion,” Zaghmout believes. It has to be official, through the father.” During the engagement period, the man and woman get to know each other through phone conversations, and if they’d like to see each other, they can do so but with companions. “If a guy likes you, and wants to get to know you, we don’t call it dating, we call it engagement. “Islam encourages arranged marriages but not like my father decided for me,” says Susan Zaghmout, an Islamic educator and a counselor. Binnoora would consider an arranged marriage trusting that his mother, who had an arranged marriage, would choose a compatible wife for him.Īrranged marriages are usually tied to Islam because in Islam, relationships between a man and woman before marriage are discouraged. The chance to find a marriage based on love in Qatar is very low. “It is just not right,” says Abdulla Saeed Binnoora, a 27-year-old field technician, about love marriages. Qatar with its rich and sophisticated cultures and traditions, and a country whose people have great respect for their religion, is a commonplace for arranged marriages. Therefore, he has been requesting for co-education in Qatar University so that young men and women can get a chance to communicate with each other. “So when they begin living together after marriage, contempt for each other begins,” said Al Jefairi. Couples who have not conversed or even seen each other before the marriage would lead to failed arranged marriages. As a result, for an arranged marriage to succeed, the couple should willingly want an arranged marriage. However, most divorcees decide to return to their husbands or wives.Īrranged marriages and family interferences in a couple’s relationship is the reason why Qatar has one of the highest rates of divorce in the world even more than in Europe, expressed Hassan Al Jefairi, a Qatari businessman and social activist, to The Peninsula newspaper. Therefore, family interferences lead to undesired arranged marriages. “We find that people who want a divorce are more of people who were in love before marriage,” says Al-Emadi.Īccording to a 2009 study conducted by the center, family interferences, woman abuse, failing of sexually satisfying your partner, a wife neglecting to care for the family and her dependence on a housemaid, and jealousy are among the reasons why married couples want a divorce. “Arranged marriages are part of our daily traditions but forced arranged marriages, which our religion doesn’t accept, are simply wrong.” According to Al-Emadi, forced arranged marriages are uncommon in Qatar. ![]() In addition, in societies where arranged marriages are no longer the norm, like in Europe or the US, divorce rates are high.īut now, the question is why are arranged marriages still an issue of debate, and why are they perceived as the main cause of divorce rates in Qatar? “People consider arranged marriages and forced arranged marriages as one thing which is very wrong,” says Sharifa Noaman Al-Emadi, a psychological consultant in the Head of Research and Studies Department in the Family Consulting Center. In the year 2010, 1,207 men and women got married, and 528 got divorced, according to a recent study conducted by Qatar Statistics Authority. In Qatar, where men and women get married in their late teenage years or early 20s, arranged marriages are the norm and yet the divorce rates are high. This traditional union is not yet an outdated phenomenon in many societies of the world. Allowing her dress to overflow the bridal couch, she remains seated waiting for her soon-to-be life partner, who she has only spoken to through the phone, to walk in. A special wedding song marks her entrance, and as she walks down the aisle in her majestic ball-gown white dress, her dearest family members follow. The day she has been dreaming about ever since she was a young girl has come. ![]() A Khaliji Husband and Wife (Google Image)
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