Afghanistan dating and marriage

Dating > Afghanistan dating and marriage

While some urban women enjoy some rights and even work outside the home, more traditional views still reign strong in the countryside. The Afghan family is a patriarchal entity, as it is in other countries in the region. Although the dress code in the cities is more liberal, a head scarf is a minimum. Not as bleak as the stereotypical picture Western media often paints an excessively negative picture of family structure in Afghanistan. Were one to believe the most negative descriptions, one might think that a majority of Afghan girls get married off before reaching puberty, to men who are many years their senior, and often as a second, third or fourth wife. In fact, child marriage is a decreasing trend and polygamy does not seem to be very common either. The more education a woman has, the less likely she is to get married off as a child or to fight for her position among several wives in the same household. Marrying age is considerably lower in the West and the Central highlands than in other areas. Surprisingly, marrying a man who is more than 10 years older is more common in cities and among women with secondary education or more. Wide acceptance for domestic violence On the other hand, surveys do confirm that it is generally accepted among Afghans that a husband can beat his wife if she has challenged his authority or otherwise failed in one of her domestic duties. Over 90% of women accept as a principle that a husband has the right to use physical violence against his wife if she does one of the a: leaves the house without telling him, argues with him, neglects the children, refuses to have sex with him or burns the food in the order of the most support to the least. There is not a big difference between the older women and the younger. Even among women with secondary education or more, as many as 77% think that domestic violence can be justified. Arranged marriages Traditional bridal jewellery from the Kabul afghanistan dating and marriage />In Afghanistan, most marriages are arranged by the families of the marrying couple, rather than as a result of a afghanistan dating and marriage initiated by the man and the woman themselves. Unfortunately, in some cases a poor family may be forced to marry off a daughter to settle debts or conflicts, rather than finding the most suitable man for her. Although this is a well known pattern, it is difficult to estimate how common it is.

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