The Process of Couple Formation : Experience and Imagination

The findings from our previous research project “Women and Life Projects” (2005) helped to consider the conditions and possibilities of feminist initiatives engaged in specific activities (entrepreneurship, work, etc.), in relation to a sharp decline in birth rates (the average number of births among women is three times lower than that of their mothers), changes in family size and structure, including the delay in marriage age (from 16-17 years to 29-30 years), and the difficulty in obtaining housing. All of these factors have led to a relative redistribution of power within the family. Can we talk about marriage without referring to the conditions under which it is formed, which are shaped by social and legal norms that define the possibilities for its existence? In addition to the marriage system governed by Islamic law, officially represented in family law, there is another system based on attraction that occurs outside the bounds of marriage. An analysis of family law reveals a dual premise: in the first, the husband is the head of the household and has the duty to provide for his wife and children. In the second, the wife has no obligation to shoulder domestic responsibilities she is considered a minor.