Arranged marriages: An oppressed emancipation?

SynopsisDrawing on an intersectional theoretical perspective, this article presents a qualitative study that explored a silenced topic: the life circumstances of intellectually able Arab women who married intellectually challenged Arab men in Israel. The article explores the context of these arranged marriages and examines the meanings that participants attributed to them. The study focused on three main aspects: the process of getting married, expectations and concerns, and the experience of being married to an intellectually challenged man. Findings of the study highlight the intersection of powerful categories such as gender, social class, culture, and ethnicity in the life circumstances of oppressed women and converge with current discussions concerning the nature of intersectionality theoretical layout and critical views of the relation between structure and personal agency in the study of women oppression.