Role of education in determining marriage timing and spouse selection criteria among female Ph.D. students

Abstract

The current anthropological qualitative ethnographic research carried out about the relationship between education and marriage shows how education impacts the age of females at marriage. This study tends to find how age factors along with education impact the institution of marriage. Further, it also explores the important traits for spouse selection among highly educated females in Universities in Islamabad. For this purpose, the study considers the highly qualified university students at the Islamic International University and the National University of Modern Languages of Islamabad Pakistan. Primary data is gathered with the help of interviews, focus group discussions, observation, and case studies. The findings of the current study tell us that there is a strong link between education and the timing of marriage. Education enables females to understand the obligations and responsibilities of marriage. It helps women to create an environment of tolerance in the family. Females acquiring higher education are more likely to marry at a later age as compared to less-educated females. They tend to be career-oriented and this higher education increases the likelihood of their economic independence. This is one of the reasons for delaying marriage. The economic condition of a spouse is taken as an important selection criterion among female university students. The other important traits for the selection of spouses are sincerity, loyalty, faithfulness, patience, and the responsible nature of the spouse. These are vital findings for the selection of spouses among highly qualified female students in the Pakistani cultural context.