Abstract: In Gaza, one finds both an impressive rate of early marriage and the highest rate of fertility in the world. 42 percent of women marry at 18 years or less whereas half the population is under 15. This phenomenon begs the following question: why is early marriage ever more frequent in Gaza but on the decline in the West Bank? This article proposes to develop an historical and sociological analysis of marriage trends in Gaza based on a diachronic examination of local Islamic court archives and interviews with people practicing this type of marriage today, while taking into account changing economic and political circumstances.

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doi.org/10.1163/156920808X381658, hdl.handle.net/1765/32887
ISS Staff Group 0
Hawwa, Journal of Women of the Middle East and the Islamic World
International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University (ISS)

Shehada, N. (2008). Between Change and Continuity: Age and Marriage Trends in Gaza. Hawwa, Journal of Women of the Middle East and the Islamic World, 6(3), 315–350. doi:10.1163/156920808X381658