Marriage in Sharifistan
Marriage in Sharifistan is considered very important culturally and legally as well religiously (In the Sharifistani state religion of Islam as well as in Christianity, the largest minority religion). Marriage laws depend on the religion of the husband at the time of marriage in heterosexual marriages or the religion under which the marriage is registered in same-sex marriages (however same-sex marriage is very rare,98.5% of marriages are heterosexual).
Weddings
Sharifistani weddings begin with gathering for the women of the couple’s families on the night before the wedding day where they decorated their hands and feet with henna (known as Kına Gecesi amongst Sharifistani Turks and mehndi amongst Pashtuns), after that Sharifistani Turks have a custom of "fetching the bride" whilst amongst Pashtuns they go on straight to what is in the culture of Sharifistani Turks the third step: the wedding ceremony at the mosque (or occasionally church depending on the religion of the groom), if the bride is Christian they will also have a wedding ceremony at the Church. After the religious side of the marriage is attended to couples will usually have some kind of party with feasting, music and dancing.
cultural attitudes
It is expected of a person in Sharifistan that they eventually marry. The average age for a first marriage is 19.8 years old for men and 16.9 years old for women, as of 2021. In 2020, it was 17.3 years old for women and 21.2 years old for men. It is culturally expected (especially amongst the upper-class) that women are virgins before their first marriage and most Sharifistani men prefer virgins to widows or divorcees, let alone women who have had pre-marital sexual relations. Chivalry is important in Sharifistan with a man being seen as having a duty to protect, and provide for, his wife or wives. Women are also seen as having gender-specific obligations, in their case "obedience".
law
The Sharifistani Kanun Sivil (Civil Code) says "To be legally married, both parties must be at least sixteen years of age, be willing and have the psychological capacity to consent". Under Muslim Personal Law they must also be " mentally and emotionally mature enough for the responsibility to each, the family and society" though different Millets determine maturity in different ways (a millet is a recognised religious community that can set laws relating to matters between two members of that same religion) and some millets set the marriageable age in their communities at seventeen or eighteen. Interfaith marriages are legal, in which case the husband's religion is usually used. Same-sex couples use the religion in which the marriage was registered but same-sex marriage is rare in Sharifistan and some millets do not recognise same-sex marriage. Polygyny is legal in some millets such as amongst Muslims, Karaite Jews, Rastafarians, Buddhists and Hindus but is illegal in others such as the Catholic Millet and the Episcopal Millet. The grounds for divorce are also part of personal law. Child custody issues are based on the Kanun Sivil whilst inheritance is based on the millet.
Controversy
As the age of marriage is sixteen and large age differences within marriages are common, Sharifistanis are often accused of being "pedophiles" or practising "child marriage" (though in Sharifistan legal adulthood also begins at 16). Another controversial aspect of Sharifistani law is that men of certain religions may have multiple wives but women cannot have multiple husbands regardless of religion. The Ministry of Religious Tolerance and Multiculturalism justifies that by claiming that polyandry makes each of the woman's husbands unsuitable for military service, thus "endangering the security, freedom and international standing of Sharifistan".
See also