From Marriage Contracts to Breaking Kola Nuts and Reciting the Qur'an: A Journey Through Migrants' Marriage Practices in Morocco

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24847/v13i22026.627

Keywords:

marriage, Morocco, Syrian migrants, Sub-Saharan migrants, intersectionality

Abstract

Morocco is transforming from a transit country to a destination country since a growing number of migrants are choosing to settle there. For many of these migrants, the pursuit of a new life in Morocco is closely tied to the establishment of familial structures, with marriage often comprising a critical first step in this process. Migration represents a disruption of normalcy in which new perceptions and practices can emerge. In this article, we engage in a socio-legal analysis of marriage practices among sub-Saharan, Middle Eastern, and South Asian migrants in Morocco, focusing on both the formal and informal dimensions. By employing a legal pluralistic lens, we analyze what type of marriage migrants enter and examine how they navigate the legal, religious, and customary norms in place. An intersectional analysis explains why a formal marriage is attainable for some migrants but not for others. Key factors such as administrative status and financial resources serve as significant barriers to their marital aspirations, resulting in either delays in formal marriage or decisions to marry through informal channels. The concept of belonging explains why informal and formal marriages continue to be practiced among migrants.

Author Biographies

  • Judith van Uden, Van Vollenhoven Institute

    Judith van Uden has a background in Anthropology and International Development Studies and is currently a PhD candidate at the Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law, Governance, and Society. She contributes to the research project Living on the Other Side: A Multidisciplinary Analysis of Migration and Family Law in Morocco. Her research explores how migrants from the Middle East and South Asia navigate both formal and informal dimensions of significant life events—marriage, divorce, and birth—within legal and social frameworks. The overarching aim of her work is to develop a legal anthropology of South-South migration, offering insight into how migrants shape their most intimate private lives in relation to state, customary, and religious laws.

  • Nada Heddane, Van Vollenhoven Institute

    Nada Heddane is a PhD candidate at the Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law, Governance and Society (VVI), Leiden Law School. She is part of the project Living on the Other Side: A Multidisciplinary Analysis of Migration and Family in Morocco, which seeks to acquire a theoretical and an empirical understanding of the ways West/Central African migrants (both regular and irregular) deal with the formal and informal aspects of major life events (marriage, birth, death). Nada’s research aims to provide a socio-legal analysis of their practices by conducting online and offline fieldwork in Morocco.

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Published

2026-07-21

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 2 (2026): Special Issue: Marriage and Migrations: Emerging Perspectives on Conjugal Relationships in the Middle East and North Africa

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Copyright (c) 2026 Judith van Uden, Nada Heddane (Author)

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