HAIFA —Arranged marriages among Arab women are on the decline. Young Arab women are freer today than in the past to choose their spouse. A new study conducted at the University of Haifa found significant differences between the young Arab family in contemporary Israel and the conservative Arab family of pre-state Israel .

"Almost 86% of women in the first generation had been parents who had been involved to a large extent in choosing a spouse, in comparison to 52% of the second generation and about 13% of the third generation," noted Dr. Nasreen Haj Yahia Abu Ahmad from the School of Social Work, who carried out the study under the guidance of Prof. Yoav Lavee.

The study findings showed that changes have occurred in various areas, from the method of engagement, parental involvement in the choosing of the spouse, and the character of the meetings with the spouse in the process of engagement. The study included 537 Arab women, half of them Muslim and half of them Christian, from 179 different families and from three generations.

Among many explanations, the researcher suggested one reason the young generation has seen changes. "The more a woman finds herself intensely exposed to the Jewish population, the more her views and behavior will be less traditional."

"Young Women in Arab society are more educated than their mothers and their grandmothers and are employed more outside the house," explained Dr. Haj Yahia Abu Ahmad, about the trend in changes and differences among the generations.

The traditional arranged Arab marriage was common among the first generation (39%), but has become very rare among the second generation (10%) and among the 3rd generation it has almost completely disappeared.

Arab women now meet their grooms before engagement more than before. The researcher noted there is also a significant decrease in match-making (shidduch) and getting to know the spouse only after engagement. In the first generation, match-making occurred about 51% of the time, while it occurs approximately 18% of the time in the third generation.

According to Haj Yahia Abu Ahmad, the data show a significant increase in acquaintance before engagement. "This acquaintance was very rare in the first generation (less than 1%) and has completely turned around to be more common among the generation of grand-daughters (61%)" she noted.

The University of Haifa study also indicates a significant decrease in the selection of a partner from the same family. "73% from the 3^rd generation married a partner not from the same family compared to 56% of their mothers and 45% from their grandmothers," said the researcher. This change is reflected in a decrease in marriage among the same clan, among family relatives and among cousins.

It was also found among the youngest generation that the younger the woman, the higher the age of marriage. Women from the first generation married on average at age 16, women from the second generation at age 19, and women from the current generation married at age 21 on average.

Also, young women reported that the division of labor with their partner was more shared than the division of labor had been with their parents. Husbands took on some of the tasks associated with running the house and taking care of the children. The study also found that the process of decision-making for more traditional couples was less in their hands, and more with their parents.

The researcher believes that the study findings illustrate an incorrect picture of the Arab woman as weak, inferior, dependent, and confined within traditional patterns that are resistant to change. This description doesn't reflect the reality of Arab women's lives in Israel . "The gloomy picture of the pseudo-depressing situation of the Arab woman and description of her as submissive and dependent to the male and subordinate to him is not correct," she concluded.

Schwab is an intern in the external relations department of the University of Haifa