Marriage Practices Research Articles

Testimony as Justice: An Anti-Carceral Transformative Feminist Response to Sexual Violence and Abusive International Marriages

Abstract: Sexual and domestic violence have long been a reality for Asian American women. This article examines the history and strategies of a Hmong American feminist social movement called Building Our Future (BOF) to understand how one group of Asian American women have devised creative methods to address sexual and domestic violence in their families and communities. Exploring the concept of “testimony as justice” against violence and enacting long-term social transformation, especially as it manifests through the exploitative practice of abusive international marriages, this article shows how BOF challenges dominant and carceral responses to sexual and domestic violence. BOF’s insistence on addressing the root causes of sexual and domestic violence through their strategic usage of social media, community dialogues, and personal testimonies reveals how Asian American feminist movement building can be sustained by engaging a wide array of constituencies. These strategies challenge the neoliberal female subject seeking justice through the criminal legal system and, instead, situates justice within the context of communal transformation. The article ultimately argues that BOF’s strategies of “speaking out” about abusive international marriages outside the context of the criminal legal system while seeking to transform the entire Hmong American community constitutes a unique site for understanding anti-carceral transformative feminist visions of testimony as justice for survivors of sexual and domestic violence.

Finally Statehood! Utah's Struggles, 1849–1896

Finally Statehood! Utah's Struggles, 1849–1896

How gender-based cultural practices violate women's property rights and inhibit property ownership: A South African perspective

This article discusses the effect of gender-based cultural practices on women's property rights in South Africa and how this impacts on women's ability to own property – particularly land. The cultural practices discussed include those relating to customary marriages such as payment of brideprice and polygamy. They also include the practices of levirate marriages and male premogeniture. These practices are linked to the unequal position of women in society, and they do not only prohibit women's access to property ownership but they also infringe their constitutional rights. To that end, the constitutional protection of the right to equality in relation to property rights is discussed and suggestions are made on how the Constitution can be used to protect women's property rights. The role of the courts in protecting women's property rights is particularly highlighted. Specific reference is made to the significance of section 39 of the Constitution which requires a court to interpret the Bill of Rights in a way that promotes “the values that underlie an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom” and obliges the courts to consider international law when interpreting the Bill of Rights. Indeed the article concludes that denying women's rights to property under the guise of culture is discriminatory and offends against fundamental and intrinsic human rights. It is proposed that courts should be encouraged to draw inference from international law as mandated by section 39 of the Constitution as this will, in all likelihood, see more women enjoying independent rights in property.

No Poor among Them: Poverty and Mormonism's Trek toward Secularism

No Poor among Them: Poverty and Mormonism's Trek toward Secularism

Gendered conflict in the human family.

Sexual conflict is a thriving area of animal behaviour research. Yet parallel research in the evolutionary human sciences remains underdeveloped and has become mired by controversy. In this special collection, we aim to invigorate the study of fitness-relevant conflicts between women and men, advocating for three synergistic research priorities. First, we argue that a commitment to diversity is required to innovate the field, achieve ethical research practice, and foster fruitful dialogue with neighbouring social sciences. Accordingly, we have prioritised issues of diversity as editors, aiming to stimulate new connections and perspectives. Second, we call for greater recognition that human sex/gender roles and accompanying conflict behaviours are both subject to natural selection and culturally determined. This motivates our shift in terminology from sexual to gendered conflict when addressing human behaviour, countering stubborn tendencies to essentialise differences between women and men and directing attention to the role of cultural practices, normative sanctions and social learning in structuring conflict battlegrounds. Finally, we draw attention to contemporary policy concerns, including the wellbeing consequences of marriage practices and the gendered implications of market integration. Focus on these themes, combined with attendance to the dangers of ethnocentrism, promises to inform culturally sensitive interventions promoting gender equality worldwide.

Capitalism and Marriage Practices- A case study of Pokhara Metropolitan City

For the most of human history, the family was primarily concerned with producing economic output. Families were built around production, thus choosing a spouse depended on how effectively one could both produce, including having more kids to supply the labor for farm or small business needed. Women and men were "yoke mates," as Stephanie Coontz, the family historian, put it. Marriages were about the ties of what economists call “complementary productive human capital.” The rise of industrial system led to an increase in the amount of work performed outside of the home where people made bundle of social relationships. This all phenomenon results changes in marriage practice and love marriage becomes dominant features of capitalism where husband-wife relationship resolved around similar interests and consumption habits for rising the prosperity and easiness of life.
 This paper examines the changing trends of marriage in capitalistic society and the factors affecting the selection of mate by arguing that selecting mate is not a personal decision but its outcome of particular form of society type and nature. The evidences presented here use data from both secondary literature and primary sources. The primary data have been purposively selected using case study methods on Pokhara Metropolitan city. Particular attention is paid to the transformation of marriage practices in city area with the rise of capitalism. The results indicate that the marriage institution have been changing rapidly than ever before with the rapid expansion of market economy, migration, education and communication which is directly or indirectly related to the personal decision of individuals mate selection process. The study also provides a more nuanced understanding of the involvement of men and women in decision making process for the selection of mate despite their caste and class.

Passampo Siri' in the Bugis Marriage Practies in East Kolaka, Indonesia: A Sociological Perspective of Islamic Law

This research aims to illustrate the problematics of Passampo Siri’ marriage practice in the Bugis community, East Kolaka Regency, using a descriptive qualitative method based on the sociology of Islamic law. Data collection techniques involve interviews with informants deemed necessary and observing or directly paying attention to the implementation of the marriage tradition through siri'. The findings indicate that the Bugis society practices this type of marriage because of social pressure to conceal shame, adherence to ancestral customs, a lack of public understanding of relevant marriage law norms, and low levels of public education. However, the custom is no longer practiced since it cannot provide justice and order in society. This marriage also has implications for acts against the law of society, as stipulated in Article 53 of the KHI that a pregnant woman out of wedlock can only be married to a man who impregnates her. In contrast, for the practice of Passampo Siri’ marriages, the pregnant woman out of wedlock is married to another man. Therefore, this research contributes directly to the development of the study of Islamic law in Indonesia and the world in finding the best solution to achieving legal expectations among the public, especially regarding marriages of pregnant women out of wedlock with men who do not impregnate them.

Matrimonial Practices among Muslims of Pokhara

Study of religious minorities keeps greater importance in a country like Nepal, where Hindus constitute the majority of the population. Marriage is a normal societal phenomenon and common in Nepali society. Muslims marriage is curious and not common to the majority religious group of Nepal. Marriage is a contract between bride and groom for the purposes of legal intercourse, child propagation, and the social contract between husband and wife. Muslims perform their marital rituals according to Sariat. The marriage of Muslims is directed by the faith itself, according to the Holy Quran. Muslim marriage has long been curious to non-Muslims because of its uniqueness. As a result, an attempt has been made to address this issue. This article is based on qualitative research and aims to outline the critical measures to be taken throughout marriage. To generalize the subject, an observation approach, in[1]depth interviews and library research are being used. As responders for the goal of gathering knowledge, Muslim scholars, masjid Committee Members, Moulana and elderly people from Miya Patan of Pokhara who have witnessed such rites were chosen. Because they desired anonymity, the responders are referred to as Res. 1. , Res.2., Res.3, Res.4 and so on. This research looks on Muslim marriage, a unique and traditional marital practice in Nepal. It makes an attempt to address the general situation of Muslim marital practice in Miya Patan of Pokhara. In Nepal, particularly in Pokhara, people have forgotten the value of marriage in the name of modernization. Muslims of Pokhara have protected the society's social standards and cultural values of marriage which should be learn from them.

Convergence of Customary, Islamic and State Law in Sasak Community Marriages

This research examines the interaction between customary law, Islamic law and state law in the context of marriage in the Sasak community, Lombok, Indonesia. Through a descriptive qualitative approach, this research collects data using in-depth interviews, participant observation, and documentation studies to understand the complex dynamics of interlegality. The research results show that the Sasak people actively navigate the tensions and synergies between the three legal systems in their marriage practices. Legal conflicts often arise from differences in the interpretation and application of customary, Islamic and state law, especially in aspects of dowry, inheritance and child custody. The Sasak people use mechanisms such as mediation by traditional and religious leaders and adaptation of customary legal practices to resolve this conflict. This research provides important insights into how multicultural societies such as the Sasak manage their legal diversity, which can help in the development of legal policies that are more inclusive and sensitive to cultural diversity in Indonesia.

Implementation of Marriage Law and Impacts on The Marriage of Sea Tribal Children in Lipan Island

Child marriage is a case that still occurs in Indonesia, including in the marine tribal community on Lipan Island, Lingga Regency. However, Indonesia already has a set of regulations governing marriage and child protection. This study aims to, first, examine the application of Indonesian regulations regarding marriage to children of the sea tribe. Second, to elaborate on the impacts that occur as a result of the practice of child marriage of sea tribesmen. The method used is empirical legal research. Sources of data come from primary data and secondary data. There are two (2) legal theories used to analyze the research problem, namely the Theory of Legal Effectiveness by Soerjono Soekanto and Theory of Legal Protection by Muchsin. The results of the study indicate that the application of regulations regarding marriage has not been effective when measured by the theory of legal effectiveness and is not in accordance with the meaning of legal protection proposed by Muchsin. There are several impacts resulting from child marriage, namely the non-fulfillment of children’s rights in the fields of health and education. Therefore, it is necessary to make changes to the regulations regarding marriage regarding the opportunity to carry out child marriages with parental permission, in addition to improving the quality of education for the Sea Tribe community on Lipan Island.

Models of the lipovans’ integration into the multi-ethnic environment of bukovyna: from preservation of ethno-cultural identity to non-ethnic and globalization impacts

The article under study highlights the process of resettlement and adaptation of Old Believers in the multi-ethnic environment of Bukovyna in the late 18th – early 20th centuries. The representatives of the Austrian administration of the region were active supporters of involving the Lipovans, motivating their perspective for Vienna officials by the fact that the new settlers, owing to their hard work and practical farming skills, will be able to influence positively the economic development of Bukovyna.
 The author verifies the evidences of contemporaries who confirm that the anticipations of local officials were largely satisfied – the Lipovans were quite successfully integrated into the economic life of their new homeland. The Old Believers were promptly associated with hard-working and enterprising people, who generally led a healthy lifestyle, preserving their ethno-cultural identity.
 The researchers affirm that quite a lot of traditional elements of material and spiritual culture were preserved for a long time, although certain changes took place in the course of time under the influence of non-ethnic factors in the environment of the Lipovans of Bukovyna. The main factor that facilitated the preservation of the traditional way of life of the Old Believers was the system of prohibitions and prescriptions of a religious and moral-ethical nature. Simultaneously, under the influence of scientific and technical progress, there is a partial recession of clearly regulated canons among the Lipovans, a gradual attachment to the technical benefits of civilization.
 The consequences of the globalization processes influence can be considered as a recess of an isolated way of life, contacts with representatives of other ethnic groups and confessions, which resulted in certain changes in the everyday and ritual spheres, the spreading of the practice of marriages with non-believers, the transition to Orthodoxy of the Nikon’s model, etc.

Child Marriage and Its Impacts on the Education of Girls in the Rural Gambia: Focus on Niani District

Twenty-one percent of young women married before the age of eighteen. Approximately 650 million girls and women are married before their 18th birthday (UNICEF, 2020, 2021). States member of the United Nations, through its Sustainable Development Goals, has committed to ending child marriage globally through laws, legislation, and other means. Though the practice of child marriage is declining globally, it remains prevalent in Africa and Asia, particularly in the Gambia. This study looks at the impact of child marriage on girls' education in rural Gambia and the factors that encourage it. The researchers conducted qualitative case study research through documentation, Focus Group discussion (FGD), observation, and interviews to collect data. The study's findings indicate that child marriage has negative impacts on girls' education in rural Gambia. This reveals the fact that the percentage of girls enrolled in schools, especially high school, is lower than boys. Girls also face more difficulties than boys to complete, retain and transit to secondary or higher education. This leaves them with no future and excludes them from social or economic advantages. The factors that encourage child marriage are included: religion, poverty, culture, lack of meaningful opportunity, older men's desire for younger women to marry, and the failure of law enforcement. These factors mentioned repeatedly perpetuate the practice of child marriage, and undermine the educational opportunities for the majority of girls in the Niani district of Gambia. Therefore, the researchers recommend that the Gambian government enforce the existing laws and regulations to protect children’s fundamental rights and put into practice the necessary regulations on the prohibition and elimination of this phenomenon.

Age Limits for Marriage In Classic And Contemporary Ulum Views; Analyst Study of Underage Marriage Practices in the Fisherman's Village of Saletreng Village, Situbondo Regency

In Islam there are no guidelines for regulating underage marriages, among the signs that serve as guidelines for age is only baliq which is an indicator for a man having wet dreams (ihtilam). And for women is bleeding (menstruation). However, in the implementation of Law No. 1 of 1974 paragraph 1 and confirmed by Article 15 paragraphs (1) and (2) of the Compilation of Islamic Law, it is stated that marriage is carried out when the male is 19 years old and the female is 16 years old. However, in reality the Madurese people who are located in Situbondo Regency have a pleasure between reality and ideality. This phenomenon is easy to find in the Madurese community, especially the fishermen village community in Saletreng Situbondo.It is strongly suspected that there is a high rate of young marriages in this area. The results obtained in this study are divided into two indicators of assessing views and the application of the boundaries of the age of the Pekawian in the fishing village community of Salereng Situbondi village towards the views of ukama shalaf and contemporary. First, the practice of underage marriages has become a cultural tradition. Where the majority of people's profession is fishing. Carrying out the practice of underage marriages as a manifestation of adding members to help them in their work such as salting fish, selling fish at the market, to making shrimp paste, the alternative they choose is to marry off their daughters who are still underage. Second, manipulation behavior cannot be avoided by law enforcement officials.

Negotiating Muslim Interfaith Marriage in Indonesia: Integration and Conflict in Islamic Law

Conflict can emerge from marriage involving parties of a different faith. However, interfaith marriage may also expose negotiation to secure the union. Although interfaith marriage is normatively restricted in Islamic law, it does occur. This study departs from the normative discourse of Islamic law and the empirical research of Muslim family law. It uses the theory of law, conflict, and integration to analyse the textual debates and practice of interfaith marriage in Lombok, Indonesia. This study reveals the patterns of Muslim interreligious marriage and the conversion that applies. The first pattern shows that non-Muslim partners convert to Islam before the marriage can be concluded. The second pattern involves Muslims who leave Islam to marry their non-Muslim partner. The third pattern suggests that each couple adheres to a different belief during the marriage even though the marriage contract was performed according to Islamic law. From the perspective of Islamic law, in the sense of sharia and Muslim family code, the first pattern is the most ideal because it follows these Islamic legal normativities. Although all practices have the potential for family and social integration, the second pattern is the most susceptible to conflict.
 Keywords: interfaith marriage, conflict, integration, Islamic law

«Вторая жена» в Дагестане: мотивация брачного поведения и социальное самочувствие

Introduction. The article raises the problem of polygamy, which is relevant for the Dagestan society, as a family and marriage practice, revived in the post-Soviet period of Russian statehood. This practice is negatively perceived by the majority of the population of the republic, despite the fact that it is not becoming less common. The attempt to answer the question of what this is connected with determined the main goal of this work - to reveal the opinion of the “second wives” themselves about the reasons for entering into Muslim marriage with a man already connected by family ties, and also to assess their social well-being in the context of the situation that has developed for them. Aspects of society of negative attitudes and problems that they have to face as a result of the chosen strategy of marital behavior. Methods. The article uses the results of the author's sociological surveys: a mass survey conducted in 2021 in the Republic of Dagestan (N=507) on a representative sample (taking into account such social characteristics of respondents as age, education, place of residence, attitude to religion, income level, social status), as well as a semi-structured interview among Dagestan women who are in the status of "second wife" (N=29). Results of research and its discussion. According to the results of the study, it was found that the women surveyed argued their decision to start a family with a married man by the desire to have a child in a legal, from the point of view of Islam, marriage union. The motivation for entering into a Muslim marriage in the status of a “second wife” is also a feeling of love, as well as the conviction of the legality of such a marriage and its equivalence with a marriage formalized according to secular traditions. The results of the interview testify to the perception of their social status by “second wives” that is adequate to the realities, which is determined by the negative attitude towards polygamy in Dagestan society and the low responsibility of Muslim husbands, who often do not follow the norms of Islamic ethics regarding family life in the format of polygamy. Many of the respondents would not dare to take this step again if there was an opportunity to return to the past. The subject of frustration is the difficulty resulting from the inability or unwillingness of Muslim husbands to equally distribute financial and emotional resources equally between wives and children in both families. In view of this, the problem of infringement of the rights of "second wives", their children and, in general, polygamy is being actively discussed in the socio-political and scientific circles of Dagestan society.

Girl child marriage and the social context of displacement: a qualitative comparative exploration of Syrian refugees in Jordan and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

BackgroundThere is growing global evidence that girl child marriage (CM) increases during humanitarian crises. Norms, attitudes, and policies that sustain CM are deeply entrenched within families and communities, and may be further exacerbated by conflict and displacement. The purpose of this study is to understand how the social and normative environment influences attitudes and practices related to CM in two diverse humanitarian settings.MethodsWe held a total of eight focus group discussions, four in each country, with Syrian refugees in Jordan and Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh. FGDs were conducted with fathers, mothers, and adolescent boys and girls.ResultsSimilar themes emerged from both settings. Participants discussed a desire to hold onto tradition in displacement and how norms are reinforced across generations. Social influence emerged in positive and negative ways, including peer pressure and conformity and the positive influence of host communities. In both settings, girls themselves described having little agency. Participants described resistance to change, which was exacerbated by conflict and displacement, though they discussed how social influence could be an effective way to challenge existing norms that drive the practice of girl child marriage.ConclusionsOur findings represent a more robust understanding of how norms operate within the social ecological system, and how they are reinforced across social relationships, offering an opportunity to more effectively challenge norms that sustain the practice of girl child marriage.

Islamic Family Law(s) in Finland

A central premise of the concept of freedom of religion is that the state has the obligation and authority to regulate and protect the religious rights of individuals and religious communities. However, this entails the state’s navigation of the rights of citizens vis-à-vis the norms of their religious communities, which in some cases may be in tension. The state must also maintain the country’s central legal principles. These premises are interconnected in vexing ways. This article studies how the concept of freedom of religion, with these underlying premises, applies to the practice of Islamic law in Finland. This question is reflected through an analysis of Finnish Muslims' marriage practices. We argue for a nuanced understanding of the relationship between Islamic family law and freedom of religion. Towards this goal we employ the concept of wellbeing (building on Sarah White 2010) to locate the practice of Islamic family law in Finnish Muslims’ daily lives, whereby they pursue material, relational, and ethical needs and aspirations. We analyse how individuals conclude their marriages and the diverse motivations and meanings underlying these practices. Our aim is to capture the familial, economic, racial, political, and ethical processes through which Finnish Muslims continually and dynamically organize marriage (and divorce) and the implications for their freedom of religion on the one hand and for the Finnish state on the other. Our analysis draws on interview data collected in an ethnographic study of Muslim marriage and divorce practices in Finland in the period between 2013 and 2018.

The Effectiveness of Supreme Court Regulation No. 5 of 2019 in Efforts to Prevent Child Marriage

The birth of Supreme Court Regulation No. 5 of 2019 concerning Guidelines for Trying Marriage Dispensation Applications aims to provide clear rules regarding the procedure for determining or granting marriage dispensation by judges. However, it is considered that it has not made a significant change in the high number of marriage dispensation cases that have entered the judiciary, which at the same time shows the ineffectiveness of limiting the practice of child marriage. The courts that are trying to stem the surge in the practice of child marriage do not seem to have yielded satisfactory results, even with the presence of these guidelines. In reviewing the effectiveness of the law, there are problems with the legal factors themselves, namely the guidelines and Law No. 16 of 2019, which still opens up opportunities for the practice of child marriage for urgent reasons that are still multi-interpreted. Apart from that, on societal factors, the low level of public understanding of the dangers of child marriage can be seen from the rise of permissive free association, and on cultural factors, there are still members of the public who practice child marriage for reasons justified by their culture.

Changes in wedding customs in Gornja Poljica in the hinterland of Split, Croatia, in the last hundred years

Aim: To examine how wedding customs have acquired unwritten rules over time and how much they have changed in the last hundred years.Methods: Semi-structured interviews with three respondents from Gornja Poljica (Split city hinterland) and a secondary analysis of sources with the aim of analyzing the course and customs of weddings over three generations in Gornja Poljica.Results: As in the past, there is a wedding procedure consisting of the gathering of wedding guests, the pick-up of the bride at her home, the wedding ceremony, the celebration, and the visit of the bride’s family to her new home. The new customs are a bachelorette party, a garter toss, a wedding cake and wearing a wedding dress all night. Of 28 customs from 100 years ago, nine (one-third) have disappeared, the wedding day has been changed from Monday to Saturday, the ceremony has been shortened from three days to one, the number of wedding guests has been increased, and the bachelorette party has been introduced.Conclusion: From the narratives, it appears that the wedding ceremony is primarily a personal event, one of the most important in the life of the bride and groom, especially for the woman, for whom it represents a permanent change in family and social status. Until the 1950s, women were more passive in the role of bride than they are today. Through the process of women’s emancipation, globalization and the possibility of free choice, the values and practice of marriage itself have changed.

Regulation of the Maturity of Married Age in Suku Anak Dalam Jambi Province

There have been many previous studies that discussed the theme of early marriage, but the difference from this study is that the people studied are in the majority of isolated communities in Jambi Province (Suku Anak Dalam). The Suku Anak Dalam community has its own rules regarding the practice of marriage and overrides the provisions in the law that have been positive. One of these rules is related to how to measure the maturity of the bride and groom (marriage age limit). For them, girls who have reached puberty are considered capable of getting married, while boys who are mature are marked by a test of dexterity to hunt animals. If the boy passes / passes the test, then he is considered an adult and is able to get married. Because according to the women of the Anak Tribe, the concept of a man's valor lies in his ability to earn a living and hunt. This coincides with the lack of fulfillment of the rules set by the State as stated in Law no. 1 of 1974. This study wants to see what factors cause early marriage and this perspective.