Tribune News Network
Cairo, Egypt
New findings on why marriages in the Arab world succeed and fail during their first five years, and the challenges couples face in the early stages of their married life have been outlined in a report produced by Qatar Foundation member Doha International Family Institute (DIFI), and the General Secretariat of the League of the Arab States (LAS).
The report, titled ‘Marital Relationship Assessment in The First Five Years of Marriage in The Arab World’, contains factors to support stable marriages, policy recommendations and programme intervention designed to help in addressing potential early-years problems in marital relations.
Trends identified in the report – launched at a Cairo event featuring experts from civil society organisations and the fields of social development and social policy – showed that two-thirds of participants described their marriage experience as ‘fun’ and ‘satisfactory’. Meanwhile, 30 percent said they had experienced extra burdens, marital maladjustment and responsibilities within the early years of marriage.
As for the motives for marriage according to the sample members, family stability and childbearing came at 72.5 percent, followed by obtaining a lifelong companion at 39.2 percent, and the search for financial and social security at 11.2 percent.
It also found multiple reasons for conflicts in the relationship between newlyweds, including unexpected behaviours, disputes over parenting styles and differences in perceptions and attitudes between wives and husbands, with respondents highlighting factors such as openness, a belief in the importance of family and its continuity, work-life balance, responsibility, mindful decisions and attitudes, and prospective planning.
The study also presented the factors required to achieve stability in married life. Interest and good companionship came in at 72 percent, followed by mutual respect at 70 percent, bearing responsibilities 62 percent, love 51 percent, and partnership in household chores and expenses 31 percent.
Policies recommended by the report included state institutions developing economic empowerment programmes for future spouses and newlyweds, covering housing, employment, social programmes, and marriage compensation funds; requesting prospective spouses to undergo medical examinations, including to assess their mental health, to avoid health concerns affecting marriage; and supporting parental and maternal leaves, access to workplace childcare, and flexible working hours for newlyweds and mothers.
At the launch event, Ambassador Dr Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, assistant secretary-general and head of the Social Affairs Sector at the League of Arab States, urged Arab countries to intensify their efforts toward implementing effective strategies and programmes promoting national capacities to address priorities related to family issues.
Speaking about the importance of the study in supporting more sustainable and happy marriages for Arab couples and families, Executive Director of DIFI Dr Sharifa Noaman Al Emadi said, “This study is pioneering in two ways - first, it includes respondents from various Arab states; and second, it focuses on marital relations and offering efficient policy recommendations and interventions to support the continuity and sustainability of marriage.”
His Excellency Tarek Al Ansari, ambassador of Qatar to Egypt and representative to the League of Arab States, said: “Qatar’s efforts and initiatives to preserve the institution of the family are always continuous.”
Further insights from the report found that the support of relatives – financially and through parenting, caregiving and conflict resolution - despite the limited percentage of negative interventions that fuel marital disputes – is connected to stable marriages and the age of marriage for both women and men has significantly increased, suggesting economic conditions in the Arab states as a factor in this change.
It also recommended marriage preparation programmes for engaged and newly married couples in the Arab world; the establishment of professional family counselling centres to help couples overcome difficulties and the development of parenting curricula to support couples with skills and strategies for parenthood, helping family relationships to flourish and reducing the stress of parenting.
On the sidelines of the launch ceremony, the Doha International Family Institute (DIFI) and the League of Arab States (LAS) in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, represented by the Embassy of Qatar in Cairo and the Permanent Delegation of Qatar to LAS, organised a side event ahead of the upcoming 30th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family global conference, which will be held on the theme of ‘Family and Contemporary Megatrends’.
The conference, organised by DIFI, will take place from October 30 to 31, 2024 at the Qatar National Convention Centre in Doha and will explore the impact on families of global megatrends: technological change, urbanisation, migration, demographic change and climate change.
