A Sociological Study of Aligarh City
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THE EMERGING PATTERNS OF MARRIAGE AMONG MUSLIMS: A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF ALIGARH CITY ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF Doctor of Philosophy IN SOCIOLOGY By BUSHRA ASAD Under the Supervision of Prof. NIKHAT FIROZ DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH, U.P. (INDIA) 2015 In Indian society marriage is considered to be an institution through which men and women are initiated into the culture of society. Therefore, they are socialized to identify a set of goals in life which largely revolves around marriage and family. Marriage is the beginning of a new family unit with all the complicated roles and statuses which the members of this unit are expected to play. Socio-cultural and religious practices regarding marriage can have a significant effect on the status of women within family and society. In a traditional society, like India which is known for its cultural diversity the Muslims form a unique group by themselves due to their religious faith and values .Among Muslims, like all other aspects of life, the man-woman relationship and the authority structure in the family too are rooted in traditional sanctions as written in sacred texts. However, scientific developments, impact of education, socio-economic changes in the modern industrial society are having their impact on the structure and functioning of marriage patterns. It is proposed to study the emerging patterns of marriage among Muslims in Aligarh as such no study has been made so far. Objectives of the Study 1. To assess the attitudinal changes among three generations of Muslim men and women towards family life. 2. To examine the attitudinal changes among three generations of Muslim men and women regarding matters related to marriage. 3. To examine the impact of education in bringing about change in the attitudes of Muslim men and women. 4. To examine the impact of residence on the attitude of Muslim men and women. Hypothesis: 1. The pattern of marriage has undergone changes among three generations of Muslims. 2. Age at marriage is increasing. 1 3. The custom of dowry is increasing. 4. Socio-economic background plays an important part in determining attitudinal change among the Muslims. 5. Rural/urban locale is an important factor in determining the rate of change among the Muslims. 6. Religious orthodox is not an important cause of Muslim women‟s lack of access to developmental facilities. The research has been designed according to the aims and objectives of the proposed hypothesis. The present study is an attempt to assess the change in marriage patterns and family issues in three generations amongst Muslim males and females. It is a descriptive research. Deductive logic of inquiry has been used in the study. The present study was conducted in Aligarh city which is situated in western U.P. Aligarh is basically a university town has its own Municipal Corporation. It has always been distinguished for its lock industries which have now, over the years has expanded tremendously. Of late, agro industries, rubber, iron and food canning industries have also developed. The city has progressed industrially. As “The Emerging patterns of marriage among Muslims in India: a sociological study of Aligarh city” was the focus of the present study, a stratified random sampling technique was used for the selection of the sample. The sample consists of 630 respondents comprising 350 married Muslim women and 280 married Muslim men. The population has been classified into three generations namely first, second and third. First generation consists of 100 women and 80 men in the age group of „above 60‟. Second generation comprises of 125 women and 100 men in the age group of „between 31-60‟ and the third generation comprise of 125 women and 100 men in the age group of „below 31‟. It was very difficult for the researcher to find out those families in which all the three generations were present. Out of 150 families 100 women of first generation, 125 women of second generation, 125 women of third generation were available and 80 men of first generation, 100 men of second generation, and 100 men of third generation were available. 2 For the purpose of study researcher has selected those areas where Muslim population was in majority which include both literate and illiterate, rich and poor which can represent the whole universe. These areas were Jeevangarh, Jamalpur, Dhorra, Muzammil Manzil, Sir Syed Nagar, Friends colony, Shahjamal, upper kot, Nai Basti, Awasvikas. The sample is representative of various variables like education, religiosity, income level, and residential location of the respondents. The data was analysed on the basis of these four variables. The technique used for collecting information for the present study was „Interview Schedule‟. The reason for choosing schedule is obvious. It ensures reliability of data unlike questionnaire. Beside many respondents being illiterate schedule is the right choice. Separate schedules were constructed for males and females. In examining the patterns of marriage among Muslims four independent variables have been used. These are education, religious observance, income and residence. All these variables have their independent influence on marriage patterns. The findings of the study revealed that in the first generation majority of the respondents were married below 18 years of age whereas in the second and third generation the marriage age has risen above 25 years. Education and age at marriage are closely associated with each other. The attitude of Muslims towards the early marriage has changed and a greater proportion of them were in favour of late marriage. The nature of the responses suggests that early marriage were prevalent in the first generation whereas third generation prefer marrying late. Thus, the hypothesis that marriage age is rising is prove true. As far as the impact of residential status is concerned, the study indicates that early marriages were more prevalent among rural born respondents whereas urban born respondents married late. Similarly, it is observed that in the present study that income level of the respondents affects age at marriage, there are three categories lower income group (below Rs.10,000), middle income group (Rs.10,000-50,000) and high income group (above Rs.50,000), early marriages were found more common among lower income group and majority of high income group married late. Thus, we can say that socioeconomic background determines attitudinal change among Muslims and the hypothesis proves to be correct. 3 The present study indicates that dowry is becoming an important aspect of Muslim marriages. Rao and Rao (1982) concluded in their study that though majority of students expressed negative attitude towards the present dowry system but in reality one third of the male respondents and their parents expected a dowry when they got marry. Similarly in the present study, majority of females and males expressed negative attitude towards the dowry but they practice dowry in reality. The study concludes that as education increased, the practice of dowry was also increasing. Among the educated respondents the practice of giving and taking dowry was more as compared to uneducated respondents. It is also concluded from the present study that dowry was given and taken among the urban born residents more in comparison to rural born residents. As far as religious observance is concerned, it is found that respondents who were religiously moderate and indifferent practiced dowry more as compared to strictly religious. As far as Income level is concerned, the practice of dowry was prevalent even among the lower income groups also. Thus, the hypothesis that dowry has increased has also proved correct. It can be concluded that as education increases among the respondents dowry demand is decreasing. Dowry is more demanded by the illiterate people. The present study also indicates that religiously moderate respondents demand dowry more in comparison to religious respondents. Also, majority of urban born respondents did not demand dowry in the third generation but in the first generation urban born demanded more as compared to rural born and in the second generation rural born respondents demanded dowry more as compared to urban born. As far as the impact of Income is concerned, it is found from the present study that dowry is demanded more among lower income group of respondents as compared to higher income group. Mehr is considered as the fundamental right of a Muslim woman at the time of marriage. Mehr is a form of marriage transaction which is a characteristic of Muslim marriage. The present study indicates that as the education rises among the respondents, the percentage of respondents who received and paid mehr has also increased. As far as the impact of religiosity is concerned, majority of respondents who were strictly religious have received and paid mehr to their wives. It is found that majority of urban born respondents have paid mehr. It is also found that high income group of respondents paid mehr to their wives more in comparison to low income 4 group. It can be concluded that in the first generation, mostly the amount of mehr was not given to the wives. Mostly the wives were easily tricked by their husband because they were innocent and not aware of their rights. But now women are aware of their rights and they don‟t compromise on it. It can be said that polygyny was not favoured by most of the female respondents with the passage of time. It can be concluded that with the rise of education among the respondents, they start opposing it. The present study concludes that the percentage of respondents who stated that there is possibility of giving equal treatment to two wives has increased from first generation to third generation.