The Handbook of Marriage in the Arab World

This open access handbook combines multiple theoretical and practical approaches for enabling a nuanced understanding of the phenomenon of marriage in the Arab world. Adopting a holistic, interdisciplinary approach, it provides a framework for the contextual and macro factors surrounding and affecting marriage in the Arab countries. It looks at the different types of marriage, whether traditional or new to the Arab world, and takes a detailed examination of the dialectic of marriage and age. It considers the dynamics surrounding delayed marriages, early marriages, celibacy, marriage costs, and age gaps between spouses. In addition, it examines marital relations vis-à-vis a diverse array of sub-topics, including marital and emotional satisfaction, and violence. It also looks at the relationship between work and marriage, and explores how ’women’s work’ affects their family relationships and intimacy. Finally, it offers a rich analysis of two core marriage-related issues in the modern Arab world: migration and its positive/negative impacts on the institution of marriage, and marriage in the context of war and conflict, as present in several areas within the Arab region. A sociological magnum opus for social science students and researchers in areas of marriage studies, gender studies, family studies, the sociology of work, peace and conflict studies, human migration, and economics, it is also relevant to policymakers, politicians, social workers, and human rights and migration activists working in the Arab world and beyond.

Ahmed Aref is an experienced policy-research expert, working on evidence-based policy developments including research, interdisciplinary policy analysis, impact assessment, program management and advocacy at national, regional and international levels. Prior to joining the Qatar Foundation, he worked for UNFPA Arab States Regional Office, the EU Program on Family and Child Rights, and in the Egyptian Prime Minister’s Office. His publications and broader areas of expertise include politics of social policies, labour and family policies, social protection and resilience mechanisms, migration and social inclusion/exclusion, maternity and child protection and wellbeing, fertility and populations dynamics, sustainable development, empowerment to the most vulnerable, social justice and policy response during crises. He leads strategic initiatives an has managed impact-oriented programs including consultancies in the mentioned fields. He has also contributed to numerous national, regional and international conferences and EGMs. Ahmed holds a PhD in Policy Research and Practice, from the Institute of Policy Research, Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath, UK

Md Mizanur Rahman is a Research Associate Professor and graduate Faculty in the Gulf Studies Program and Center, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Sociology from the National University of Singapore (NUS), for which he was supported by the prestigious NUS research scholar award and the Social Science Research Council (US) fellowship. Prior to joining Qatar University in 2018, Dr Rahman served various institutions including Asia Research Institute (NUS, Singapore), Department of Sociology (NUS, Singapore), Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS, Singapore), and University Brunei Darussalam (UBD, Brunei Darussalam). In his research and teaching, he focuses on Area Studies, migration, and development in the context of the Arab Gulf States. His research sites are interregional, encompassing the Arab Gulf States, Southeast Asia and South Asia. His publications include twelve books, fifteen book chapters, and thirty-five journal articles. His books have been published by reputed academic publishers like Oxford University Press, Palgrave Macmillan, Routledge, and Springer Nature, among others. Four of his articles are ranked as the top ten cited and/or downloaded articles in ISI journals in various years. Dr Rahman is an editor of two Springer Nature book series and sits on a number of editorial boards of international journals. He was a member of Migration Research Leaders Syndicate for the 2018 Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, formed and spearheaded by the IOM - the UN Migration Agency based in Geneva. In 2024, he received the Research Excellence Award in the Humanities and Social Sciences from the College of Arts and Sciences of Qatar University.