A few years ago, I posted about this Iraqi/Iranian practice of temporary marriages, also known as mutta. I became curious as to where the concept stood, today, and I discovered that it remains common, and has become increasingly widespread. Supporters of mutta say it protects vulnerable women from exploitation by offering them a flexible marriage contract, backed by a religious authority. Critics of the practice say women engaged in mutta still lack the rights of ordinary wives and are, in some cases, stigmatised as no more than prostitutes operating under institutional cover.
So let's take a closer look. If a couple - not married to each other - chooses to have sex, they have violated religious tenets. If a child is conceived, the child grows up under a stigma, and has no rights to inherit from the father. If a couple - not married to each other - enters into a temporary marriage, a mutta, at least theoretically, sex is no longer frowned upon (although many of these temporary marriages are carried out in secret). In addition, although the woman gains no rights under mutta, any child conceived during this temporary marriage is regarded as a legitimate heir of the father.
Gee, at first glance, this sounds like a good idea. Plus, there are some who endorse the notion of the marriage contract being limited in time. If you no longer wish to be married at the end of the contract, you go your separate ways; if you're happy with how things are, you can renew the contract.
Now, don't forget that polygamy is allowed, in these countries, so being married to another, is not an impediment to mutta. Which raises the question -if polygamy is permitted, why bother with mutta? And therein, my readers, lies the problem, in my opinion. Mutta is seen as a way of legitimizing a sexual relationship, and any children resulting from that relationship, without the cost of setting up a second household. With that concept as a key 'feature' to mutta, it should be no surprise to learn that a large number of the children born as a result of a temporary marriage, are not adequately supported by their fathers. The right to inherit, does not carry with it the right to be supported.
