WUNRN
The Arab
Gulf States, also known as Arab states of the Persian Gulf or Gulf
Arab states or Gulf states, are usually reserved for the six Arab
monarchical states joined since 1981 in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): Bahrain, Saudi
Arabia, the sultanate of Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
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INFORMAL MARRIAGES - NOT LEGAL - HIGH RISKS FOR WOMEN
By Suad Hamada
|
Young couples
are saying "I do" via email and text messages in the presence of two
witnesses - a practice, which like the older informal marriages of Mut'a' and
Misyar, has no legal approval.
Muta'a or
pleasure in Arabic is a 14-centuries-old marriage custom that is common among
Shiites. Misyar, which can be traced to some 10 years ago, is prevalent among
Sunni Arabs.
In a Misyar
marriage, which is official with the couple signing a marriage document that
has no legal validity, the woman has to verbally agree to surrender some or all
her marital rights like having children, living with her husband or being
financially supported by him.
"All
these types of marriages, old or new, are basically for sexual relations since
marriage as an institution is for the creation of a family and strong social
bonding," says Saba Al Asfoor, activist and member of the Bahrain Women
Association for Human Development. "In our men-oriented society, (it is)
women who bear the consequences, not their partners," she told IPS.
In
She believes
the strong hold of patriarchy here leaves women with no choices. "We
cannot hold the woman as the only person responsible for such marriages,"
she says. "It is society that gives men powers over women, and
discriminates against women's rights."
The Bahrain
Women Association has experience in dealing with women victims of temporary
marriages, who, for instance, were married to foreigners and their children are
stateless. Laws here do not allow a woman to give her child citizenship rights.
"We
cannot stop those marriages, but the Association is trying to enhance awareness
among women of their right to lead dignified and discrimination-free lives. It
is also dedicated to giving them a helping hand," says
"There
is nothing wrong or harmful with Muta’a if it would be implemented according to
Islamic principles, as this type of marriages is useful in many cases," he
said in an interview with IPS.
With most
marriages arranged by family members, it could be useful for couples who are
engaged and want to get to know each other without committing a sin, he says.
Also, Islam permits women travelling alone to enter a temporary marriage. In
his long experience as a judge, he knows of only four cases of Muta'a where
women have suffered, he says.
"Islam
forbids minor and immature women from being involved in Muta’a to protect them
from entering harmful relations," Shaikh Mohsen adds.
However,
Najma Rustom, an orthodox Shiite, says religious scholars need to clarify the
conditions of temporary marriages for women. "Ordinary people don’t know
there are restrictions, so they end up getting married for fun because it is
allowed in Islam," she told IPS.
Temporary
marriages can also be risky from the point of view of sexually transmitted
diseases like HIV/AIDS, warns Dr Sumaya Al Jowder, head of the National
Sexually Transmitted Diseases Programme. She thinks Muta'a marriages are
particularly risky. "Misyar is an official (not legal) marriage, couples
have to conduct a pre-marriage test to get married, while Muta’a is unofficial
and could be done verbally without the signing of documents, so a medical test
is not a requirement," she told IPS.
Two cases of
HIV/AIDS reported last year in
Former
legislator and Sunni Scholar, Shaikh Ali Muttar, criticised Misyar marriages
for exploiting women and depriving them of their rights to lead normal married
lives.
"Some
men take advantage of older women who want to get married by agreeing to a
marriage with conditions, such as not providing them with money to run the
house or only visiting them for a couple of hours every day," he told IPS.
He said that Islam doesn't approve the maltreatment of women.
Shaikh
Mattar was also very scathing about "temporary marriages" that rich
Gulf students entered into while studying abroad. "Many of these men go
for what they call travel marriages, in which they cut all relations with their
wives and children after going back to their own countries."
Nasima, a
successful teacher, lives with the pain of a Misyar marriage that failed. She
married her already married childhood sweetheart after accepting his condition
that only a few close relatives and friends can be told of their wedding. She
also agreed to see him for only a few hours a day. "Everything was fine until
his wife came to know and he divorced me to please her," she told IPS.
Temporary
marriages only harm women, emotionally and physically, she cries. Young women
in chat rooms beware!
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