Story Archive

Mr, Mrs, Mstrss

The newest rage in Egypt: “passers-by” marriages. “In traditional marriages the bride leaves home to live with her husband, who must meet all the financial needs of the family,” says Selim al-Awa, an attorney who specializes in Islamic law. “In this union it is the opposite. The husband is exempted of any financial obligation and visits his wife periodically.” The women involved seem to like it because being married gives them higher social status, and keeps them from becoming spinsters. “The concierge, the grocer and the neighbors show more respect towards me than when I was single,” says a 46-year-old woman who, via a passers-by marriage, is the second wife of her already-married husband. She says she sees him three or four times per week. (RC/AFP) ...In the U.S., that’s called “dating”.