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Traditional cultural functions of marriage and their limitations:

As Seen Through an Islamic and Feminist Lens in Another Evening at the Club

Marriage defined

Marriage is the legally or otherwise formally sanctioned union of two people, usually involving cultural traditions and/or religious beliefs

Also known as matrimony or wedlock

An institution through which intimate interpersonal relationships are sanctioned

Historically refers to heterosexual relationships

A marriage ceremony is called a wedding

Specifics of the definition vary widely between cultures and religions, as well as throughout the history of a given culture

Polygyny, involving a man and multiple women, is much more common than polyandry, involving a woman and multiple men

A brief history

In early hunter-gatherer societies, a family was a loosely organized group with multiple men and women and their children

After the shift to more agrarian civilizations, the societal needs and functions of the family group also changed

A large part of the traditional function of marriage in early societies was to create and maintain personal and political alliances

It’s primary purpose became to bind women to a man in order to guarantee that any children produced were the man’s biological heirs

Traditional cultural function

Women in many cultures were considered property, transferred from the control of their father or other male guardian to the husband through marriage

Because of the cultural importance of the male family line, it was acceptable for men to take more than one wife, or engage in sexual relationships outside of the marriage, but the value of women was tied to reproduction and reproductive control

The husband was therefore seen as entitled to sexual access to his wife

If a wife failed to produce offspring, her husband was entitled to dissolve their marriage and take a new wife

In order to compensate the bride’s family for the loss of her domestic labor, men frequently “purchased” the right to marry a woman by paying her father a bride price, or dowry

Traditional gender roles

Marriage is often viewed as a contract, with both parties owing certain rights and obligations to each other according to the marriage agreement

Generally, a woman’s assigned role was as a homemaker, mother, and caregiver

In exchange for her obedience, domestic labor, and submission to her husband as the head of household, a man was expected to provide financial and material support for his wife and children, as well as protection

For a long time, women did not have access to education or job opportunities, so marriage was seen as one of the only ways for a woman to ensure future security for herself and her family

Islamic marital traditions

In Islam, as in other Abrahamic religions, marriage is highly recommended, as soon as the individual feels ready

An Islamic marriage contract is a legal agreement, not a sacrament, with conditions stipulated in a written contract

If the marriage contract is broken, either party is entitled to seek out a divorce

Polygyny is allowed under certain conditions, polyandry is not

The groom is expected to provide for the bride, in return her responsibility is to run the home and raise children properly in the Muslim faith

Other rights and responsibilities are decided between the husband and the wife or the wife’s family, and may be included in the written marriage contract

The mahr, a wedding gift from the groom to the bride herself, separate from any marriage gift or dowry, is mandatory

Islamic marital traditions cont.

Parents may arrange an engagement for their children, but Islamic requirements for a legal marriage include the legal consent of the bride, the groom, and the bride’s guardian

If the bride’s guardian does not give consent to the marriage, it cannot legally take place

The term wali mujbir is used in Islamic law to mean the guardian of the bride, usually her father or paternal grandfather

Islamic scholars state that the bride’s consent is required for the marriage to be legal, but according to Muhammad a woman’s silence can be seen as permission, due to her “natural shyness”

Islamic spousal rights and obligations

Rights owed to the wife

The mahr

Material and financial support

Kind and proper treatment

Marital intimacy

Justice between multiple wives

To be taught the Islamic religion

Defense of her honor

Rights owed to the husband

Being the head of household

Obedience in everything that is not in disobedience to Allah

Marital intimacy

No one of whom he disapproves is allowed in the house

She cannot leave the house without his permission

Feminist analysis of marriage

In recent centuries, women’s rights activists have pointed out the reflection of patriarchal beliefs in marriage as an institution

The patriarchy is a social system in which property and power is passed down through the male line, and men hold political, social, and moral authority

Women were considered either property or second class citizens, with rights limited to the domestic realm

Women’s traditional role in marriage reflects this outlook, and is institutionally responsible for much of how traditional gender roles are maintained and perpetuated

The legal and cultural exclusion of women from educational and work opportunities further contributed to their dependence on their husbands

Feminist analysis cont.

As can be seen in the traditional marital roles, women were required to give up many aspects of their personal freedom in exchange for the protection and financial support that they were unable to easily obtain outside of marriage

As society became industrialized and women entered into the workforce, they gained more opportunities and the institutional benefit to the wife was no longer sufficient to compensate for the loss of these freedoms

Another evening at the club

The short story Another Evening at the Club by Alifa Rifaat shows the overt and covert pressures exerted on a woman within the context of traditional marriage roles in Egypt during the 20th century

Although she heavily critiques these patriarchal roles and their impact on women, she also challenges Western perceptions of Islam as an inherently sexist culture

Her work holds men accountable for misinterpreting Islamic teachings in order to assert supremacy over women, and for failing to hold up their end of the marriage contract, in which they are responsible for the happiness and well being of their wives

In Another Evening, she also presents a class based critique of society’s treatment of women

The wife in Another Evening is essentially transferred from the control of her father to her husband, but gives her tacit consent through silence

In the beginning she sees her new husband as an advantageous match, representing security, support, and even advancement in social status

According to Islamic principles, the husband fails to fulfill some aspects of the traditional marriage contract, as well as breaking Islamic cultural traditions such as abstaining from alcohol

Although her husband is morally in the wrong, as well as his failure to live up to marital obligations other than material support, it’s very clear that the standards for his behavior and hers are different, allowed by his position of superiority under patriarchy

Possibly violent consequences are implied if she fails to submit to him completely and conform to his expectations, and his position of dominance would enable him to ruin her life and future security