Marriage and Divorce in the Middle East and American Societies - Term Paper Example

?Marriage and Divorce Differences between the Middle East and American Societies Module Module ID: date: The Paper: The present paper aims to elaborate the patterns of domestic life of the individuals by paying special heed to marriage and divorce systems that have been in vogue in two absolutely divergent cultures of the globe i.e. the Middle East and USA. The main objective behind exploring the differences between the patterns of marriage and divorce includes revealing the reasons behind the alterations in the status of these two important universal phenomena in modern era, which exist in every society of the world without discrimination (Macionis, 2007, p.349). Since a large majority of the US population are the followers of the Christian faith (Eck, 2002, p.432), which lays stress upon the observing of moral values, and fulfillment of the carnal desires through marriage between the individuals belonging to the opposite genders (Chadwick, 1975, p.6), marriage institution had got significant popularity in the US culture since the olden past. The same is also applied to the Middle East societies as an overwhelming majority of their populations adhere to the Abrahamic faiths including Islam, Christianity and Judaism (Fox, 2001, p.31). However, the Muslims make up the largest majority of the entire region, which also demonstrates the same teachings regarding marriage attributed to its predecessor Abrahamic faiths, i.e. Judaism and Christianity. As a result, marriage between two adults of opposite gender is the only acceptable sexual association in the Middle East societies, which gives birth to the legitimate children eventually. Families in the Arab world, according to Rashad et al. (2005), are undergoing major changes as new patterns of marriage and family formation emerge across the region (p. 1). There was a time when the Arab Muslims did not allow inter-religious marriages particularly for their female stratum. Somehow, Islam allowed Muslim males to enter into the marital-knot with the females from the People of the Book (or Scripture), i.e. Jews and Christians. However, the Muslim women could not marry the Jewish and Christian men as per the teachings of their religion. The similar preferences in respect of selecting the spouse were also the conventions attributed to the traditional Jews and Christians. Furthermore, endogamy had been in vogue in the Arab world, where the people preferred to marry within their close relations and tribesmen. Hence, religious values dominated over the Hebrew and Arab cultures prevailing in a large part of the entire region. Moreover, polygamy has been in vogue in the Middle East, where the Muslim males can marry and keep four females at a time (Barakat, 1993, p.22). It is particularly the case with the men coming from the royal families and elite stratum of society, where having more than two wives has been a tradition and fashion among them for the last several centuries. Since they possess huge amount of money and resources, managing large families and fulfilling their financial needs has never been a big deal for them. Somehow, monogamy, as well as bigamy, appears to be obtaining popularity in the modern era, which is considered to be the outcome of rise in the literacy rate as well as spread and penetration of globalization. As a result, a noticeable proportion of the Middle East men have now started keeping one single wife with them at one time. Another distinguishing characteristic of the Middle East includes the observing of early marriages at a larger scale. The parents in the Arab countries used to get their daughters and sisters married at the age between 15 to 20 years. Rashad et al. (2005) noticed that during the early 1970s, around 40 percent of women ages 15 to 19 were married in Kuwait and Libya, but these figures had dropped by the mid-1990s to 5 percent and 1 percent respectively (p.2). It was actually because of low literacy rate as well as due to absence of the trend and opportunities for seeking higher education in the Middle East with the exception of Israel, Lebanon and Egypt. However, this has taken drastic turn with the passage of time, and patterns of marriage have witnessed tremendous alterations in their nature and scope in various societies of the world. It includes a certain decline in the trends of early marriages in various Arab countries, particularly Libya, Kuwait and Iraq. Moreover, tremendous popularity in respect of seeking higher education among the Arab youth has also caused the decline in marriages at the early stage of life, which has also paved the way towards love marriages in this most conservative region of the world. Consequently, the marriages in the Arab world are witnessed by keeping the liking of the couple in view in modern era. In other words, love marriages have also got their way in the Middle East along with the rest of the globe in the wake of globalization, technological revolution and freedom of media at large. Though secret same-sex relations also find their way in almost all parts of the contemporary era Middle East societies without discrimination, the presence of regulatory authorities implementing the religious cult and values would not permit the announced marriages between the members of the same sex altogether. In addition, the dissolution of marriage, i.e. divorce, which used to be considered as a highly undesirable social phenomenon, has also obtained popularity in these cultures, particularly during the second half of twentieth century. Divorce is aptly considered to be an unpleasant act in most of the Middle East countries, for it leads to the breaking of domestic life and deterioration of the family set up eventually. However, the same act has been practiced by the elite stratum of the rich countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. There are so many reasons behind the significant increase in the divorce rate in the Middle East, which include conducting of marriage at early age, financial problems faced by the couples, concept of polygamy in the mainstream culture, and wide-ranged adultery and extra-marital sexual relationships developed by either or both of the spouses. Though other factors also seek their influence on matrimonial relationships, early marriages frequently undergo failure of understanding between the couples necessary for keeping the marriage intact in their wake. It has been estimated that over 13.5% of divorced women and 23.7% of divorced men in the Middle East states get married at an early age of life (Nazzal, 2001, p.19). It is partly due to the very reality that the young girls are married to the mature men at a very early stage of their life, and the couples appear to be unable to develop mutual love and affection. Consequently, the young wives consider themselves to be encaged within the four walls of domestic life, where they observe limited opportunities of recreation and freedom. However, as they reach their late 20s and early 30s, they observe expansion in exposure of life, which forces them to get rid of an artificial life that seldom involves true feelings of love and natural affection between the spouses. On the other hand, most of the marriages celebrated in the US societies are based on the love affair between two individuals with the involvement of free consent for the performance of same. Hence, desire for the accomplishment of love, companionship, reproducing the young ones and having a peaceful domestic life leads the Americans to get married (Williams et al., 2005, p.151), which is contrary to the Arab culture, where marriages are celebrated just for the purpose of sexual gratification and reproduction. Since the US society is one of the most diversified cultural amalgamations, the lovers (and future spouses as well) could belong to different ethno-racial groups or communities of the country. As a result, the members of white, black and brown races enter into matrimonial relationship with one another without seeking any opposition from any corner of society. Hence, skin color and religious background are of least concern for entering into the marital-knot in the USA (Macionis, 2007, p.418). There was a time when inter-racial and intra-religious relationships, including sexual intercourse, love and marriage, were taken to be a strict taboo in the country. As a result, the people, particularly belonging to the indigenous white racial group, were not allowed to violate these traditions, norms and value prevailing in the American society by marrying a black person. Somehow, these restrictions witness no space altogether in the modern society, and the Americans are free to develop relations with any other individual of his/her choice. Not only this that the people of America enjoy complete freedom to choose the mate of their choice, but also they have put the marriage institution aside to some extent and even do not hesitate to develop extra-marital sexual relationship with the members of opposite and same sexes without taking his age, religion, ethnicity and race, etc., into the slightest consideration altogether. It has given birth to the idea of single parenthood in the wake of it, which has created grave socioeconomic problems and difficulties particularly for the single mothers and their young ones. By keeping in view these problems, the authorities have introduced a few reforms which bind the fathers in respect of providing financial support to their biological children so that their financial miseries and moral collapse could be escaped. Furthermore, the concepts of same-sex marriages and unwed cohabitation have also appeared in the modern societies of the globe including the USA, Europe, Australia and Canada, which has played important role in changing the meanings of marriage in these cultures during the contemporary era. So, over nine states of America have passed the bills in respect of granting permission for same-sex marriages between the adult couples with free consent of both the spouses. Consequently, same-sex couples enjoy the same rights and privileges in these US states and are attributed to the heterosexual couples of society. Somehow, the situation is the Middle East is quite divergent one, where open homosexual relations and extra-marital cohabitations witness absolute and unconditional restrictions in these societies with the exception of Israel, which allows same-sex marriage in the same lines as per the tradition of the modern countries of Europe and America. Nevertheless, Kuwait, Lebanon and Egypt, there are also found same-sex relationships, though mostly in strict closet. The rate of temporary separation as well as divorces is very high in the US society in comparison with that of the Middle East. The researchers estimate, according to Doherty, that 40%–50% of all first marriages end in divorce or permanent separation. The risk of divorce is even higher for second marriages, which is about 60% (US Today, 2011). Thus, the divorce rate touches the terrible limit in the modern America. The researches elucidate several reasons behind high divorce rate in the country, which include lack of compromise and tolerance between the couples, significant rise in the proportion of working women, imbalance between work and domestic responsibilities, unemployment and financial worries, absence of joint family set ups, elimination of the role played by the elders for keeping the young couples united, moral deteriorations and disloyalties infidelities observed by the spouses and popularity of immoral cohabitations. To conclude, it becomes crystal clear that marriage is a social phenomenon that is adopted by every society of the world. However, patterns of marriage have observed stunning alterations in modern times. Moral decline, financial embarrassments, rise in domestic responsibilities and socioeconomic instabilities also have their role in disturbing and weakening marriage institution. Thus, all these elements appear to be playing imperative roles in putting the marriage institution into grave jeopardy in the present-day America, paving the way towards temporary and permanent separations between the spouses. However, the marriage institution still observes traditional growth and development in the Middle East, where marriages are predominantly arranged ones, and the parents and family members of boy and girl choose life-partner in many of these countries. In addition, since the Middle East societies also believe in joint family systems, the elders also play their significant part in protecting the domestic life of the young couples. References Barakat, Halim (1993) The Arab World: Society, Culture and State. Berkeley and Los Angeles University of California Press Chadwick, Henry (1975) The Early Church The Pelican History of Church 1 Penguin Book Doherty, Dr. Williams (2011) How common is divorce and what are the reasons? US Today September 28 Edition Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/wellness/divorce/story/2011-09-28/Some-couples-pull-back-from-the-edge-of-divorce/50592266/1 Accessed on 02-17-2013 Eck, Diana (2002) A New Religious America: the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation HarperOne ISBN 978-0-06-062159-9 Fox, Jonathan (2001) Are Middle East Conflicts More Religious? Middle East Quarterly Fall Retrieved from http://www.stevendroper.com/religion.pdf Accessed on 02-17-2013 Macionis, John J. (2007) Sociology Eleventh Edition Pearson Prentice Hall Inc Rashad, Hoda., Osman, Magued & Roudi-Fahimi, Farzaneh (2005) Marriage in the Arab World Washington: Population Reference Bureau Retrieved from www.prb.org/pdf05/marriageinarabworld_eng.pdf Accessed on 02-17-2013 Williams, Brian K., Sawyer, Stacy C. & Wahlstrom, Carl M. (2005) Marriages, Families & Intimate Relationships Allyn and Bacon Read More