An article by Balkan Insight-a pan-Balkan news site-by Albina Sorguc claims that more and more Bosnian women are marrying businessmen from the Arab world, particularly the Gulf. For such men, it’s usually a second or even third wife, and they only spend part of the year with them while in Bosnia on business or vacation.
The article is largely based on one anonymous Sarajevo’s woman account of her marriage to an Arab businessman. “I deliberately consented to this kind of marriage, knowing I am not his only wife. Nobody tricked me,” she told Balkan Insight. The woman married her spouse after he came to Bosnia to open up a company, and receiving permission from her family. She claims to know over 20 women in similar arrangements.
In Islamic law, a man can be married to up to four women at once. In modern times, the practice still occurs in some Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Other Muslim states, like Tunisia, have outlawed the practice.
So why marry Arab men from abroad? ““I was thinking about changing my job, and it was very hard. When he proposed this I thought maybe it was a chance for a better life,” said the woman, who claims others felt similarly lured by financial motivators.
The head of the Sarajevo Muslim community, Enes Ljevakovic, told Balkan Insight that they have no statistics on such marriages, and that marriage law is government by the Bosnian state.
This marks perhaps the latest trend in European women and Arab men getting married for economic reasons. British tabloids have reported on young Tunisian men marrying much, much older British women, for example.
--AL
