Druze Brides

Druze Bride crossing border never to return home to her Family

The Honor of Druze Women is sacrosanct that they are not required to have photos on official Israeli documents as Rosenthal states in her book The Israelis. (Rosenthal 311) In her interview of a young Druze girl Salwa goes to say, “I will live at home until I marry. All of us do that is not questioned.”(Rosenthal 311) The Druze is a very religious group that abides to there strict religious laws. In an article titled Druze Bride cannot return to the Golan Heights after her marriage, Druze women are leaving there home for marriage never to return. This article proves true to the young Salwa statement in Rosenthal’s book but to an extreme.

 Israel and Syria have been in a state of war since Israel was created in 1948. Since the 1980’s Israel and Syria have allowed a small number of Golan Druze to cross the Frontier on religious pilgrimages or to study. Druze women can also cross both directions to get married, but they cannot cross back. Twenty-five year old Abushahen from a Druze village of Buqata on the Golan Heights is a bride marring a Druze in Syria and is to leave her family never to return. Abushahen’s family was separated when Israel took the Golan Heights from Syria and has not seen relatives in Syria but at reunions in Jordan who has diplomatic relations with Israel and Syria. It was in Jordan at a family reunion that Abushahen met her Husband Hareb twenty-six. Abushahen father is sad and wishes there wasn’t a fence that forbids him from seeing his daughter in Syria, but knows that he could meet her In Jordan to see her again. “I’m so happy to be married today,” Abushahen said ‘ But “ I’m sad to Leave my family.” The Red Cross Officials escorted her over the Border and into Syria. Their relatives and members of Hareb’s family greeted her.

Movie cover for the The Syrian Bride

            According to Yael Segev-Eytan, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, since 2001, 70 Druze brides have come from Syria to Golan, but Abushahen’s departure is the first time since 2001 that a Golan Bride has gone to Syria. This situation seems to me more and more common. In 2004 “ The Syrian Bride” and Israeli film tells the story of a young Druze woman who leaves her family on the Golan Heights to marry a Syrian Druze knowing she can’t return. In my research I cam across video clips of Druze brides leaving there family on there wedding day.

The article was on a pro women’s rights cite, called Women living Under Muslim laws. The article was written in a reporting style nevertheless it was put on the web site to show viewers what women are subjected to in their cultures and religions in this case Druze women marriages that force them to leave there families.The following link takes you to a news cite reporting on a Druze Bride to cross to Syria from the Golan Heights She is interviewed and her crossing is shown. It doesn't get more real than watching this happen in Israels Golan Heights.