JEDDAH, 2 September 2007 — Ah, the joys of misyar marriage; that’s the one where a woman agrees to marry a man under “no obligation” terms. In other words, the woman and man can live as if married — with all the benefits that this implies — but the man is not obligated to provide the material provisions that he would otherwise be obligated to provide in a conventional marriage. According to yesterday’s Okaz newspaper, a 16-year-old boy learned about misyar marriage and thought to himself: Wow, a wife without paying a dowry or supplying her with housing or other material needs? That sounded too good to be true to the boy, so he decided to pursue this option by seeking a misyar matchmaker. He told the newspaper that he liked the idea that he wouldn’t have to tell his family about the marriage, and that he wouldn’t have to pony up for the material expenses. So far, the kid hasn’t been successful, but who knows? Perhaps there really is a woman out there that would love to marry a broke shabab (youth) who lives with his parents. He probably shouldn’t hold his breath until he finds that ideal woman, though.
