astro
February 27, 2005, 11:34pm
1
This is fascinating. I’ve never heard of these.Single Mother Shocks Egypt by Keeping Baby
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Hind el-Hinnawy’s story might have provoked little more than gossip in other places. But in conservative Egypt with its taboo on sex talk and deep respect for family, she generated a full-blown scandal when she went public with her decision to bear a child as a single mother and try to prove a popular young actor was the father.
Almost nine months after she sued, a judge has ordered DNA paternity tests.
It began, el-Hinnawy said, when she entered into an “urfi” marriage, an unofficial arrangement that has become popular as a way to skirt Islam’s ban on premarital sex, with Ahmed el-Fishawy, a 24-year-old TV star.
Urfi marriages have no official contract and are often kept secret. Although a document is signed in front of witnesses, the marriage can be broken simply by destroying that paper.
Such marriages have become more frequent, often for poor Egyptians who cannot afford to marry or as temporary unions for people who want to legitimize their sexual activities in a strict Muslim society with its stricture against premarital sex
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hajario
February 27, 2005, 11:38pm
2
In the mid 90’s there was a similar movement in Malaysia called Al Arkam (sp?). At least that’s what the corrupt Malaysian government claimed they were up to. The group was make illegal.
Haj