In different Muslim cultures across the world, marriage is often arranged according to the desires of families, rather than the wishes of individuals. These marriages often result in tumultuous relationships with little emotional connection between the husband and wife.
I didn’t get many breaks growing up. I didn’t get the chance to attend college or study the things I wanted to study. When my parents decided to send me to an intensive programming course so I could learn something that would lead to a good job I jumped at the opportunity.
Mei is a single woman. She still lives with her parents and younger brother. She has watched many of her siblings and friends get married around her. Her family and community continually ask her when she too will get married. It is considered shameful and sinful in her culture to not be married by age 30, and with her 29th birthday just around the corner, she is feeling the pressure increasing.
While Yun’s mom understands that letting her daughter rest is good for her body, she also feels the pressure to give Yun every possible opportunity for success.
Unfortunately, in the Muslim community very rarely is there the romantic interaction that Westerners expect of couples. Marriage is to produce children and provide a cook and caregiver for the husband’s parents.
Her heart is in two locations, half where her older daughters are and the other half with her younger two. “It’s just the only way to make money and provide for our family,” she says. “Now that we’ve made this decision, there’s just no way to change it.”