< The results

"Marriage is the only option"
Judith van Uden
Judith van Uden

"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:

  1. "The bread of the house is eaten by strangers"
  2. "Marriage is the only option"
  3. "Chill dad, he is good"
  4. "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.