Tag: marriage

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Geopolitics Society

No Fairy-Tale Wedding In War-Torn Syria

A young couple celebrate their wedding
A young couple celebrate their wedding Daniel Leal-Olivas/i-Images/ZUMA

HAMA — Most young women in Syria probably grew up dreaming of someday having a beautiful, magical wedding. But in wartime, many women, assuming they are able to wed at all, are settling for ceremonies that are a far cry from what they imagined. “My biggest fear was that we would book a restaurant and no one would show up,” says Sarah, a newlywed from Hama. She had planned to get married at the end of the summer. But plans are hard to make in Syria these days. Roads are so dangerous that chances are slim a mailed invitation will […]

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Geopolitics Society

Brave New World: Inside India’s First Bonafide Baby Factory

Some of the babies recently born at the clinic in Anand
Some of the babies recently born at the clinic in Anand Subhash Sharma/ZUMA

Poor women come to this Indian clinic to rent their bellies to wealthy couples from around the world. A practical solution to modern problems or the worst kind of social engineering?

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Geopolitics Society

Francis, After Six Months: Just How Different Is This Pope?

Six months in
Six months in Evandro Inetti/ZUMA

VATICAN CITY — There’s a joke going around St. Peter’s Square: Next thing you know, to comply with his ecclesiastical vows of poverty, the pope is going to put the Vatican up for sale! That day hasn’t yet arrived, but the idea speaks as much to Pope Francis’ unpredictability as to his now famous acts […]

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Society

Gays, Lesbians And “Marriages Of Formality” In China

Gay pride in Shanghai, but many others in China still hide their orientation
Gay pride in Shanghai, but many others in China still hide their orientation Jeremy Breningstall/ZUMA

It’s a weekend morning. Y, a lesbian woman, changes out of her usual masculine attire and puts on an elaborate woman’s outfit to go and visit the parents of A, a homosexual man. The visit is to inform the parents that Y and A are getting married, and hope that they will approve of their […]

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Society

Make Your Own Borscht! On The Still-Too-Slow Liberation Of Russian Women

Better off alone?
Better off alone? Svetlana Grechkina

In some ways there’s been great progress in a woman’s ability to control her destiny in Russian society. But in other ways, it’s actually even worse than during the Soviet era.

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Society

As Rupert And Wendi Murdoch Split, China Flirts With Prenuptial Agreements

Rupert Murdoch and Wendi Deng in 2011
Rupert Murdoch and Wendi Deng in 2011 David Shankbone

BEIJING – Rupert Murdoch has filed for divorce from his wife, Wendi Deng, and the Chinese media is watching with great attentioin whether their ambitious female compatriot is going to get her share of the cake from her fabulously rich ex-husband. It’s likely though that many will be disappointed since it was disclosed long ago […]

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Society

After Game Of Thrones, Our ‘Weddings Gone Bad’ Global Edition

A wedding ceremony should make for the happiest of memories. But the now infamous closing scene of the latest Game of Thrones episode (referred as the “red wedding”) reminds us in a whole new way how quickly nuptials can turn gnarly. We have tracked down some of the funniest, quirkiest and just plain disastrous wedding […]

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Society

France Divided: Huge Rally Against Gay Marriage, While Lesbian Film Wins Cannes

LA CROIX (France), LE PARISIEN (France), AFP Worldcrunch PARIS – Some 350 people were arrested over the weekend in Paris, during protests against gay marriage. Meanwhile in the south of France, the Cannes Film Festival celebrated gay romance, awarding the top Palme d’Or prize to a love story about a lesbian couple. Despite the law […]

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Ideas

Loveless Marriage And The Spectre Of Engineered “Singularity”

Through thick and thin?
Through thick and thin? JD Hancock

In a society designed around individual liberty, has marriage become little more than a temporary link-up of working people choosing to spend some free time together? And the kids?

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Geopolitics

How The Swish Of A Skirt Is Changing South Korea’s National Identity

South Korea is still deeply rooted in its patriarchal tradition
South Korea is still deeply rooted in its patriarchal tradition Korea.net

SEOUL – North Korea recently attacked newly elected South Korean President Park Geun-hye, making a jibe at the “venomous swish of her skirt.” The swish of South Korea’s long traditional silk skirts has long been used as a macho joke – if not an insult – targeted toward strong women. Aggressive women, women who do […]

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The Next Pope

Pope Appears In Public, Says Resignation Is For “Good Of The Church”

Worldcrunch ROME – Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday made his first public appearance since stunning the world and his Catholic flock with the announcement of his decision to become the first pontiff in nearly 600 years to resign. Telling a crowd in the Vatican auditorium that the historic resignation was “for the good of the […]

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Society

Polygamy Fading Out Of Fashion For African Muslims, Men And Women Alike

Times are changing for young Congolese
Times are changing for young Congolese Julien Harneis

GOMA – Young Muslim men in the Democratic Republic of Congo are less interested in having several wives than their fathers were. Facing rising prices and feuds over inheritance, the new generation doesn’t see how the benefits outweigh the costs of having multiple spouses in the same household. As for the women of the current […]

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Society

LGBT Rights In Poland: Anti-Gay Laws Are Destined To Die, Just Like Socialism

The Warsaw Equality Parade
The Warsaw Equality Parade Magic Madzik

OpEd: Same-sex civil unions have been defeated in Poland’s Parliament, thanks to a hard-right minority inside the ruling party. History tells us this will not stand.

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Society

Desperately Seeking Divorce From My Gay Husband In China

Desperately Seeking Divorce From My Gay Husband In China
jimw

“Behind the closet are those wives imprisoned in an unhappy marriage…” A Chinese woman used her personal blog to describe life as the wife of a gay man, before her husband decided finally to come out. According to a report conducted in 2005 by Liu Dalin, a prominent sexologist, 90% of Chinese homosexual and bisexual […]

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Ideas

In Morocco, A Call For Polygamy To Reduce Ranks Of Unmarried Women

In Morocco, a turn in the road for women?
In Morocco, a turn in the road for women? travelwayoflife

–Analysis– RABAT – Recent estimates from the Moroccan High Commission For Planning (HCP) found the median age for marriage in Morocco was 31 for men and 27 for women. There are many reasons for this – more years spent studying, and the high cost of housing and wedding ceremonies being the most obvious. Some, it […]

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Society

For Congolese Women, A Trade Is The Path To Independence

A Proud baker in the Congolese city of Masi Manimba
A Proud baker in the Congolese city of Masi Manimba UK-Department For International Department

BENI – Gisèle Masika, a young divorced woman from this Congolese city, says she wants nothing of her aunt’s life as a housewife. “My aunt can’t do anything, her husband takes care of everything, and he has no consideration for her,” she says. Like other women in Beni, in northeastern Congo, Masika decided to learn […]

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Society

Call The Khatba – Traditional Matchmaker Back In Vogue In Modern Egypt

All you need is love... and a matchmaker.
All you need is love... and a matchmaker. Turkairo

CAIRO- The khatba has made a comeback in the last few years. A modern and polished version of the modestly dressed middle-aged matchmaker from the movies who visits families with a collection of pictures of prospective brides and grooms, a few Cairo women are looking once again to facilitate marriages and help people find their […]

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Society

Gay, French, Faithfully Catholic – Living A Paradox, As Marriage Debate Heats Up

Gay rights demonstration in Paris
Gay rights demonstration in Paris Tseb

PARIS – To look at them, you would never know the agony these young men, relaxed and self-assured, have endured. Drinking wine and eating blinis in their comfortable Parisian apartment, Nicolas (not his real name), Bertrand, Fabrice and Damien all tell a similar story. Raised in practicing Catholic families, and believers themselves, they have taken […]

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Society

Skype Down The Aisle – Traditional Weddings Go Virtual For Rwandan Diaspora

A Rwandan wedding (photo montage)
A Rwandan wedding (photo montage) Joshua Jortosh

KIGALI – In Rwanda, getting married has always been a complicated affair. Before anything, the families of the bride and groom sit down for a long negotiation. Once they have exchanged gifts and agreed that the couple should indeed marry, and of course settled on what the dowry will be, the traditional wedding can start. […]

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