"Marriage is the only option"
Why did Khadija and Mansur decide to marry? Was it simple romanticism, a desire to build a family, or was marriage their only choice in Morocco, where unmarried cohabitation with the opposite sex can have serious legal and social consequences?
This article is part of the series Marriage: Balancing romance at home and abroad:
- "The bread of the house is eaten by strangers"
- "Marriage is the only option"
- "Chill dad, he is good"
- "We had two weddings but I only attended one"
Under the Moroccan penal code, sexual relations outside of wedlock are punishable by fines and imprisonment for one month to a year. Socio-culturally, cohabitation between unmarried men and women is viewed as morally wrong. Transgressing this social norm can severely damage one's reputation. Khadija shares that being caught as an unmarried woman with a man in a house alone can damage a woman's reputation to such an extent that it becomes nearly impossible to find a future spouse.
In the next blog, we will learn what the couple understands as important characteristics in a spouse.