IN THEIR OWN VOICE: EXPERIENTIAL REALITIES OF SADAT WOMEN

Abstract

This qualitative research study aims to understand the endogamous marriage pattern in Syed caste, and how Syed Women perceive its impact on their life. The sample for this study was 20 respondents equally divided into married and unmarried participants, thus ten unmarried and ten married Women were respondents in this work. The primary data was collected using open-ended interviews, which were used to glean the experiential realities of Syed Women. The participant selection was done using self-identification, convenience sampling, and social snowballing. There were two key informants who referred me to those who were unknown to me. This enabled me to cross-check them first, and then collect the data from respondents on their premises. Key findings of the study confirm that Syeds usually wed their daughters within their close relatives, and are strict followers of marrying within their sect. However, there are a few exceptions the ratio of the marriage of Syed Women with the non-Syeds is 2:20, within this sample. None of the Women has been married without her parent's decision, and they have been allowed to choose their life partner within the family. The average of the married respondents at the time of marriage is 23.3 years. The biggest concern of the participants at the time of marriage was about the life partner and their in-laws since most married Women were facing a very challenging life due to in-laws’ pressure and their husbands. Most of the participants feel that they have successfully achieved their life goals. They feel more secure, family bonding has become strong enough by getting married within the caste, and their parents’ decision and they feel that it has also helped establish mutual understanding between life partners. The Syed Women get special respect as compared to other communities due to the Prophet’s lineage. Moreover, most of the respondents feel that there have been no major social restrictions in their life. Key Terms: Syed Caste, Muslim Women, Marriage, Cousin Marriage, Experiential Stories