In Egypt, marriages are often contracted without bride and groom really knowing each other well before. A young man usually sees a girl at a family party or on the street, or his family draws his attention to a young woman. If he likes her, he goes to her father asking for her hand in marriage. That was the case hundreds of years ago and not much has changed until today.
However, the law today only allows marriages when both - groom and bride - are of legal age, that means at least 18 years old. Forced marriages are also prohibited. Both spouses must voluntarily enter into the covenant of marriage. The reality can still be different today. The young women, but certainly also the men, do not dare to contradict their families. Despite doubts or even dislike, they tie the knot for life. In addition, you don't know each other at all or hardly at all. To this day, people believe in the principle: "Love comes with time!"
The result is high divorce rates among young people. This, in turn, creates a multitude of problems, since divorce is very costly for men and often means that women are socially marginalized. However, there is a change here. There are now divorced women who have remarried.
The following three stories tell of cases where everything went well. Everyone involved was lucky!
Part 1: Fatma - marriage 32 years ago
Part 2: Leila - Wedding 14 years ago
Part 3: Mira - a year ago
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Egypt's Neverending Stories - Anecdotes from the Land of Pharaohs
Short StoryWe want to tell stories playing in the Egyptian province. Everyday stories that are true and happening until today. They are about the live of simple people, about helpfulness and charity, about little and big rascals. Many of them make you smile...
