Explaining Marriage Payments: Mahr Among Omanis
The high amount of mahr paid by the groom to the bride, among other marriage payments, constitutes a real burden for young Omanis today. This article sheds light on the main factors and motives that determine the amount of the mahr. Paradoxically, new consumerist desires, more highly educated women,...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Brill
[2018]
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In: |
Hawwa
Year: 2018, Volume: 16, Issue: 1/3, Pages: 90-143 |
Further subjects: | B
mahr's determinants
B Islamic principle B Negotiation B mahr B Oman B marriage payment |
Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
Summary: | The high amount of mahr paid by the groom to the bride, among other marriage payments, constitutes a real burden for young Omanis today. This article sheds light on the main factors and motives that determine the amount of the mahr. Paradoxically, new consumerist desires, more highly educated women, and "love marriages" seem to coincide inversely with rising marriage payments. Modernization variables, such as women's education and exogamous marriages, are not decreasing the mahr as predicted by theories of modernization, nor is institutional regulation effectively decreasing the amount. Beyond its economic aspects, mahr needs to be situated in its social, political, and cultural dimensions to better understand the complexity and variability of this institution. This article answers fundamental questions about how the mahr amount is fixed and negotiated between families in Oman. |
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ISSN: | 1569-2086 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Hawwa
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15692086-12341338 |