Doha International Family Institute Journal - Volume 2015, Issue 1

Egyptian communities are increasing in Europe, and Italy is the first European country targeted by a number of Egyptians. While other Arab countries (i.e. Morocco) are experiencing a progressive “feminization of migration”, Egyptian migration remains a male-dominated phenomenon. One of the main issues around the big presence of young Egyptian single men in Italy is that of transnational marriages, which migrants engage in with women from their original villages.

In this paper I focus on the families that are created through what I call “marriage with an absentee”, investigating the value of transnational marriages both for migrants and for Egyptian women who marry men who are working abroad. I describe those marriages in their organizational aspects—entering into the details of the rituals of the engagement and of the marriage. I also discuss some of the consequences of this practice. I.e., on one hand the creation of a transnational family (characterized by the new bride staying in Egypt), and on the other hand the woman's prospect of international mobility, which can be achieved only through family reunification.

Taking into account relevant old references such as the Arab Family and the challenge of change (Barakat, 1993; 1985), trying to discuss the basic characteristics of the Arab family not only as a central socioeconomic unit, but mainly as a microcosm of the demographic transformation of the society, as well as the first and intimate educational space for the creation of the self and the identity (Caputo, 2006), we move into the complex and delicate subject of the evolving contemporary families in the Maghreb. First of all, we try to analyze the difficult reformulation, within the families, of educational models and values. Nowadays, we are faced with new and multiple typologies of families in the Maghreb, shifting from the traditional models of the Arab and Islamic society to families quite far from such models.

Within this context, we start from the meaningful work conducted for years by the Arab Families Working Group (AFWG, 2008; 2013), trying to understand the links between gender and family in the Arab world, going back to the patriarchy and up to the deep demographic, social and cultural transformations of the last fifty years in the Arab countries.

Within the Maghreb, we choose to focus on Morocco in order to understand that besides the demographic changes and many other transformations such as the quick urbanization, the degree of gender participation and an important change of the values, families are very much changing not only as far as their structures are concerned, but also as far as the relationships among their members.¹

The modernization of a country like Morocco is one of the most visible aspects. The Moroccan main towns are the core of this “modernity” showing at the meantime the most engaging promises and the most paradoxical poverty. Most of the political discourses, as well as the discourses of the media and the civil society, are based on the idea of “progress,” together with ideas of democratization, gender equalities, education, good governance.

So, today more than in any other period, we need a realistic vision of the changing society, able to promote initiatives and to assume risks, including the positive aspects of both the “modernity” and the original identity of the country. Within this framework, the King of Morocco Mohammed VI has called for many values of the so-called “modernity”² among which is the notion of “responsible citizenship.” With such premises, a focus on Morocco is very relevant because the country, during the last years, is not only at the core of a very meaningful and original social and cultural change process, but it is also at the core of an important reform process,³ concerning also the specific field of the Code of the Family (Mudawwana al-Usra al-Maghribiyya). In addition to that, some qualitative researches have been achieved by some of the Moroccan sociologists and anthropologists (and others), in the period of the last ten-five years, attesting to this changing dynamic that needs to be observed.⁴

Marriage is in decline in many Arab countries, and this is particularly evident in the 35–39 year age group of women. This study used qualitative interviews with diplomats to the United Nations from Arab countries to help understand the decline, or delay, in family formation, and the resulting increase of single women in the 35–39 year age group. Quantitative research was also used to provide background on the twenty-two countries in the League of Arab States, and give perspective to societal conditions that could be contributing to the declining percentage of marriages among both men and women. Several factors which seemed significant in reducing or delaying family formation are: higher rates of tertiary (college) education among women, reduced job availability for men, worry about the potential of divorce and the modernization or globalization of society. Family laws and policies were studied, and compared with information gained through the personal interviews, to determine if some policies could be helpful to slow the decline of marriage in Arab countries.

This study addressed the problems and issues facing the Qatari family in the wake of rapid socio-economic development. The study explored housing conditions, health conditions and economic conditions of Qatari women as related to the marital status categories such as never married, married, divorced and widowed across seven administrative regions of Qatar, i.e., at the national level. The data for the study were obtained from the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, Qatar Census Data, 2010. Macro-level data were analyzed in Excel for prominence in frequency for demographic, socio-economic, housing and health conditions across different types of marital status categories. The results of the study showed that most of the Qatari women belonged to the married or never married categories. However, the divorced and the widowed women, though in the minority, faced health issues in terms of more reported disabilities and lower housing and economic conditions as compared to other categories.