The Family Crisis in the Middle East

Frances Hasso, a visiting associate professor in women's studies and international comparative studies and one of Duke's newest faculty members, has just released a book about family crisis in the Middle East.

"Consuming Desires: Family Crisis and the State in the Middle East" (Stanford University Press) addresses new types of marriage arrangements adopted in many Middle East societies by Sunni Muslims, the legal and cultural ramifications of these new relationships and how states and families are responding to them.

"These marriages allow for men and women to engage in sexual relationships, but do not require that they register the marriage with the state, that they live together, or that the man be financially responsible for the wife or household," writes Hasso, who researches intersections between states, social movements and individuals in the Arab world.

In ‘Consuming Desires,' Hasso looks at sexual and marital practices more broadly, including rates of singlehood, divorce, sexual liaisons and related shifts in gender and sexual norms. She also examines the policy and legal responses of states to these issues, particularly in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

"There is a crisis," Hasso says, "but its nature, causes, and solutions are understood differently by variously situated actors and groups in both societies."

In the book, she outlines what is at stake for the various groups -- the state, religious leaders, parents, young people, men and women of different classes and locations, and women's organizations -- in arguments for and against these relationship forms.

For more information and to purchase the book, visit the Stanford University Press website.