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The practice of informal marriages in the Muslim world

A comparative portrait

Bibliographic Data

ID12533795
AuthorsJanet Afary (0000-0002-6328-3621, University of California System, corresponding author), Roger Friedland (0009-0006-6125-9173, University of California System)
Year2023
Volume51
Issue5
Pages1068-1090
Publication date2023-05-25
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1353-0194 • E-ISSN: 1469-3542
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13530194.2023.2194609
OpenAlexW4378215176
LanguageEN
Citations received6

Informal marriages have been on the rise in recent years in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA) region. These unions are different from formal marriages in a number of ways. There are also many factors contributing to the growing popularity of such unions. Both men and women are delaying marriage; rates of formal marriage are declining; and rates of divorce are increasing. Because such unions are generally not registered, it has been difficult to document the growing popularity of this trend. In 2018, we used Facebook (FB) banner ads in seven Muslim-majority countries to survey the young computer-literate populations of Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Palestine, Tunisia, and Turkey, as well as their respective diasporas, to better understand the nature of such unions. Our respondents, we hope, are a representative sample of younger people who are living or have lived in these nations, and who are using this social media site. Over 10,000 respondents provided us with information about their marital status. This paper examines the marital histories of those engaged in informal marriages, their sexual orientations, and the attitudes of formally and informally married respondents about informal marriage. Who engages in informal marriage and what do married people think of this marital form

Arranged Marriage · Banner · Geography · Human sexuality · Marital status · Political science · Popularity · Population · Portrait · Premarital sex · Sociology · Demography · Gender Studies · Islamic Finance and Banking Studies · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Marriage and Sexual Relationships

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Citations per year2
Citation span2023 - 2026 (4)
Highly citedNo

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