•  
  •  
 

The Undergraduate Research Journal

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate attitudes and perceptions of ‘Urfi marriage among students of the American University in Cairo. The sample consists of 48 undergraduate AUC students of which 24 are males and 24 are females. All subjects are Egyptian nationals. All subjects completed a questionnaire consisting of 26 questions aiming at revealing attitudes and perceptions. The research reveals that AUCians tend to view ‘Urfi marriage as being “cover” for pre-marital, illegal and secretive sexual relations. The majority stated that they would not contract this type of marriage under any circumstances and that society as a whole stigmatizes ‘Urfi which in turn leads them to attaching stigma to it as well. A significant finding was that females overall tended to rate ‘Urfi as risky enterprise more frequently than males. Discussion of the findings in the light of cultural and social factors and in relation to a particular layer of society (AUCians) is presented.

Document Type

Research Article

Department

Psychology Department

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Not necessary for this item

Download
COinS