Cross-National Marriage in Qatar

While cross-national marriage has come to public attention and is gaining traction in Western scholarship, it is still an understudied phenomenon in the Arab region, including Qatar. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore and describe the phenomenological constructs of cross-national marriag...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hawwa
Authors: Alharahsheh, Sanaa Taha (Author) ; Almeer, Faras Khalid (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Brill [2018]
In: Hawwa
Further subjects:B cross-national marriage
B society perception
B Qatar's rapid development
B motivating factors
B GCC countries
B Qatar
B family acceptance
B Nationality
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:While cross-national marriage has come to public attention and is gaining traction in Western scholarship, it is still an understudied phenomenon in the Arab region, including Qatar. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore and describe the phenomenological constructs of cross-national marriages by Qataris through documenting the societal perception, family reaction, and motivating factors behind this marriage form. To achieve the study's aim, a phenomenological qualitative method was used along with in-depth interviews as the primary source of data collection. The results indicated that cross-national marriage among Qataris is on the rise. Qatari society has become more accepting of cross-national marriage over the years. Yet, negative perceptions and resistance to cross-national marriage still persist. Furthermore, acceptance and consent are not expressed uniformly between families. Some families are more open and supportive towards cross-national marriages, while others express rejection and resentment that may or may not resolve itself as time passes. The results further showed that the costs of marriage and mahr (dowry), background similarities, exposure to other nationalities, and attraction to individual attributes have been identified as dominant reasons for interviewees who chose to marry outside their nationality. More research is needed to further investigate this phenomenon using a mixed-method approach.
ISSN:1569-2086
Contains:Enthalten in: Hawwa
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15692086-12341336