GSU Library Research Guides: Marriage & Family: Country Specific Sources

China Web Sources

China, a country study
Online full-text book. Includes articles on Family and Household and Marriage. Citation information: Worden, Robert L., Andrea Matles Savada and Ronald E. Dolan, eds. China: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1987.

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Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China, 1980 / 2001
From the website of the Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China in New York. Covers current marriage and family law in China as adopted in 1980 and amended in 2001. These new laws replace China's Marriage Law of 1950.
Population and Family Planning Law of the People's Repulic of China, 2001
Adopted at the 25th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on December 29, 2001
China's Population and Development in the 21st Century
Discusses the Current Situation and Prospect, Targets and Principles, and a Plan of Action for the future. From the website of the Central People's Government of The People's Republic of China.

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Family Planning in China
Explains family planning in China in regards to the one-child policy. From the Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, August 1995.
The One Child Policy And Its Impact On Chinese Families (PDF)
Written by Barbara H. Settles, Xuewen Sheng, and Yuan Zang of the University of Delaware.
Adoption Law Of The People's Republic Of China
Adopted at the 23rd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on December 29, 1991, promulgated by Order No. 54 of the President of the People's Republic of China on December 29, 1991.

Nigeria Web Sources

Nigeria, a country study.
Online full-text book. Includes a relevant article on the status of Women within the society.

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Matrimonial Causes Act (PDF)
An Act to make provisions for matrimonial causes.
Marriage Act, Chapter 218, of 1990
Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

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Nigerian Family Law 1 (PDF)
Online textbook for a course taught at the National Open University of Nigeria.
Religious and Customary Laws in Nigeria (PDF)
An essay by Abdulmumini A. Oba, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.
Early Marriage in Nigeria
From the United Nations Population Fund website.

Saudi Arabia Web Sources

Saudi Arabia, a country study
Includes an essay entitled Cultural Homogeneity and Values which provides some information about family life and marriage in Saudi Arabia. Click on the "Table of Contents" link to access additional information about the country. Citation information: Metz, Helen Chapin, ed. Saudi Arabia: A Country Study. Washington GPO for the Library of Congress, 1992.
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The Basic Law of Governance
From the website of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, DC. See the section on the values of Saudi Society for a brief discussion of the importance of the family.
Kingdom reports 'ifta' ruling on civil marriage, 1998
Clarifies the status of civil marriage in Saudi Arabia. From the website of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, DC.
Address by Education Minister Dr. Muhammad Al-Rasheed to UN special session on children, 2002
Clarifies the rights of children within Saudi society.
King Abdullah establishes family courts, 2006
Explains the reason for the establishment of family courts. From the website of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, DC.
Understanding Islam
From the website of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, DC. Scroll down the page for answers to the following questions:
- Why Is The Family So Important To Muslims?
- What About Muslim Women?
- Can A Muslim Have More Than One Wife?
- Is Islamic Marriage Like Christian Marriage?
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Saudi law approves marriage with foreigners
An article published on an United Arab Emirates website. The Law sets conditions for such marriages and the monetary fine for violators.
U.S. Department of State: Marriage to Saudis
Article from The Middle East Quarterly.
Child brides: Will Saudi Arabia set age limit for marriage?
An article published in the Christian Science Monitor newspaper.

United States

The following are just a few of the books available in the University Library on the topic of marriage and family in America. Use the Library Catalog to find additional books.

Consult the library's Floor Maps to determine where the books are shelved on each floor. Note that the Law Library is located on the first floor of the Urban Life Buiding (across from the GSU sports arena).

Culture and customs of the United States by Benjamin F. Shearer
Call Number: Ref. E169.1 .C843 2008
Location: Library North 2, Reference collection (Non-Circulating)
ISBN: 0313338752

Includes a chapter entitled "Gender, Marriage, Family, & Education in volume 2.
Encyclopedia of the United States in the twentieth century
Call Number: Ref. E740.7 .E53 1996
Location: Library North 2, Reference collection (Non-Circulating)
ISBN: 0133071901

Includes an extended essay on the Family (and marriage) in volume 1 (p. 221+)
Encyclopedia of American cultural & intellectual history
Call Number: Ref. E169.1 .E624 2001
Library North 2, Reference collection (Non-Circulating)
ISBN: 0684805618

Volume 3 includes an essay on the history of the "Family" (p. 73+)
Encyclopedia of American studies by American Studies Association
Call Number: Ref. E169.1 .E625 2001
Location: Library North 2, Reference collection (Non-Circulating)
ISBN: 0717292223

Volume 2 includes an essay on the "Family" (p. 109+). Volume 3 includes an essay on "Marriage" (p. 15+).
Inside the castle : law and the family in 20th century America by Joana L. Grossman
Call Number: KF505 .G765 2011
Location: Law Library
ISBN: 0691149828

Presents a comprehensive social history of twentieth-century family law in the United States.
Man and wife in America : a history by Hendrik Hartog
Call Number: KF510 .H37 2000
Location: Law Library
ISBN: 0674002628

Examines the institution of marriage from a legal standpoint.
Marriage and divorce by Margaret C. Jasper
Call Number: KF510.Z9 J37 2008
Location: Law Library
ISBN: 0195376560

Addresses the current laws governing marriage and divorce, including the related issues of child custody, visitation, and support.
The marriage contract : spouses, lovers, and the law by Lenore J. Weitzman
Call Number: KF529 .W43
Location: Law Library
ISBN: 0029346304

Provides a critical analysis of the traditional model of marriage and its regulation by current law.
Marriage at the crossroads : law, policy, and the brave new world of twenty-first-century families by Marsha Garrison and Elizabeth S. Scott
Call Number: HQ536 .M3243 2012
Location: Law Library
ISBN: 1107018277

Publisher Description: "Provides tools to inform the debate and to assist policy makers in resolving questions about marriage at a critical juncture."
Issues on Trial: Marriage by Noël Merino
Call Number: KF510 .M34 2009
Location: Law Library
ISBN: 0737744901

Presents primary source materials, such as the text of court rulings and dissenting opinions, as well as analysis and opinion on the rulings.

China

The following are just a few of the books available in the University Library on the topic of marriage and family in China. Use the Library Catalog to find additional books.

Encyclopedia of Modern China
Call Number: Elec. Resource
Publication Date: 2009

Online full-text encyclopedia. Type the terms marriage or family into the search field to locate information on China and Chinese culture. Use your Campus ID and Password to access from off-campus.
Culture and customs of China by Richard Gunde
Call Number: DS721 .G89 2002
Location: Library North 5
ISBN: 0313308764

Includes a chapter entitled "Family & Gender."
Encyclopedia of China : the essential reference to China, its history and culture by Dorothy Perkins
Call Number: Ref. DS705 .P47 1999
Location: Library North 2, Reference collection (Non-Circulating)
ISBN: 0816026939

Includes an entry on the "Marriage Law of 1950" (p. 316+) and "Family Structure" (p. 152+) and "One Child Family Campaign" (p. 364+).
The Cambridge encyclopedia of China by Brian Hook
Call Number: DS705 .C35 1991
Location: Library North 5
ISBN: 052135594X

Includes an article entitled "The Individual, Family, & Community" (p. 92+).
Berkshire encyclopedia of China : modern and historic views of the world's newest and oldest global power
Call Number: Ref. DS735.A2 B47 2009
Location: Library North 2, Reference collection (Non-Circulating)
ISBN: 0977015947

Volume 3 includes an extended article on "Marriage & the Family" (p. 1404+). Volume 4 includes in article on the "One Child Policy" (p. 1642+).
China today : an encyclopedia of life in the People's Republic
Call Number: Ref. DS777.6 .C49 2005
Location: Library North 2, Reference collection (Non-Circulating)
ISBN: 0313321701

Volume 1 includes an essay on "Ethnic Kinship" (p. 161) and "Ethnic Marriage" (p. 163). Volume 2 includes an essay on "Marriage and Divorce" (p. 381) and China's "One Child Policy (p. 448).
International handbook of Chinese families
Call Number: HQ684 .I58 2013
Location: Library North 4
ISBN: 1461402654

Covers many topics dealing with marriage and the family in China (and beyond), including discussions of China's One-Child Policy (p. 627), Divorce and its Effects on Urban Women (p. 539) and Gender Equality in the Family in Shanghai (p. 511).

India

The following are just a few of the books available in the University Library on the topic of marriage and family in India. Use the Library Catalog to find additional books.

Culture and customs of India by Carol E. Henderson
Call Number: DS423 .G33 2002
Location: Library North 5
ISBN: 0313305137

Includes a chapter entitled "Women, Marriage, and Family."
Brill's encyclopedia of Hinduism
Call Number: Ref. BL1105 .B75 2009
Location: Library North 2, Reference collection (Non-Circulating)
ISBN: 9004176411

Includes an extended essay on Kinship & Marriage in volume 3 (p. 97+).
Marriage Patterns in Rural India: Influence of Sociocultural Context by Shireen J. Jejeebhoy and Shiva S. Halli
Call Number: Online book chapter
ISBN: 0309096804

From the book: The Changing Transitions to Adulthood in Developing Countries: Selected Studies (2006)
Encyclopedia of India
Call Number: Ref. DS405 .E556 2006
Library North 2, Reference collection (Non-Circulating)

Consult the index in volume 4 for essays on marriage and the family.
Family, Kinship, and marriage among Muslims in India by Imtiaz Ahmad
Call Number: DS427 .F27
Location: Library North 5
ISBN: 0883867575

Discusses kinship and marriage among Muslims within several communities in different parts of India.
Concepts of person : kinship, caste, and marriage in India by Ákos Östör, et al.
Call Number: GN635.I4 C68 1982
Location: Library North 5
ISBN: 0674157656

"This work looks at the extent to which new models of kinship, caste and marriage translate into regional and Indian Models. The contributors tackle different geographical areas and such diverse topics as hierarchy, forms of address, ritual, household and widowhood."
Contentious marriages, eloping couples : gender, caste, and patriarchy in northern India by Prem Chowdhry
Call Number: HQ670 .C46 2007
Location: Law Library in Urban Life Building
ISBN: 9780195684995

This book deals with the widespread phenomenon of contentious marriages and elopements in rural and semi-urban north India, specifically in the state of Haryana. Such challenges to norms and customs have escalated in recent times, and have become more complex due to the changing dynamics of power between, and within, caste groups. As the runaway couples question the authority of family, caste, and community, the traditional powers have become more dictatorial and often reacted with violence."
Child marriage in India : socio-legal and human rights dimensions by Jaya Sagade
Call Number: KNS546 .S22 2005
Location: Library North 4
ISBN: 0195668901

Examines domestic law in India in the context of international human rights law.

Nigeria

The following are just a few of the books available in the University Library on the topic of marriage and family in Nigeria. Use the Library Catalog to find additional books.

Culture and customs of Nigeria by Toyin Falola
Call Number: DT515.4 .F35 2001
Location: Library North 5
ISBN: 0313313385

Includes a chapter entitled "Gender Roles, Marriage & Family."
Family and social change in an African city : a study of rehousing in Lagos by Peter Marris
Call Number: HN800.L3 M3 1962
Location: Library North 4
ISBN: 0415329957

Lagos is both a port and the most populous city in Nigeria. Includes a chapter entitled "The Conduct of Family Affairs" and a chapter on "Marriage."
Two villages on stilts; economic and family change in Nigeria by Stanely R. Barrett
Call Number: HN800.N5 B35
Location: Library North 3.
ISBN: 0810204754

Explains the relation between the economy and the family in two Nigerian villages - Olow and Talika. Includes information on Family and Marriage in both villages.
Frontiers of globalization : kinship and family structures in Africa by Ana Marta González, et al
Call Number: HQ691 .F76 2011
Location: Library North 4
ISBN: 1592217710

Includes a chapter entitled: Stretched and strained but not broken : kinship in contemporary Nigeria
Youth, globalization, and the law by Social Science Research Council (U.S.)
Call Number: HV9069 .Y67 2007
Location: Library North 4
ISBN: 0804754748

Includes a chapter entitled: Global regulation and local political struggles : early marriage in northern Nigeria.

Saudi Arabia

The following are just a few of the books available in the University Library on the topic of marriage and family in Saudi Arabia. Use the Library Catalog to find additional books.

Culture and customs of the Arab Gulf States by Rebecca Torstrick
Call Number: GN640 .T67 2009
Location: Library North 5
ISBN: 0313336598

Includes a chapter entitled "Gender, Marriage & Family."
The Oxford encyclopedia of the Islamic world
Call Number: Ref. DS35.53 .O96 2009
Location: Library North 2, Reference collection
ISBN: 0195305132

Volume 2 includes an essay on the Family (p. 207+) and Family Law (p. 212+). Volume 3 includes an essay on Marriage & Divorce (p. 493+) within Islam.
Family law in Islam : divorce, marriage and women in the Muslim world
Call Number: HQ1170 .F36 2012
Location: Library North 4
ISBN: 184885742X

Includes a few pages about Saudi Arabia (pp. 93-97) on "misyar" marriages in which a husband and wife agree contractually not to live together and the husband is not expected to bear any financial responsibility for his wife with regard to housing and maintenance.
Saudi Arabia : Middle East in focus by Sherifa Zuhur
Call Number: DS204 .Z84 2011
Location: Library North 5
ISBN: 1598845713

Includes a chapter entitled "Women & Marriage" (p. 218+). Check the index in the back of the book for additional information.
Women in Saudi Arabia today by Mona AlMunajjed
Call Number: HQ1730 .A65 1997
Location: Library North 4
ISBN: 0333654811

Includes a chapter on "The Status of Women Under Muslim Law" including some information on marriage.
Women in Saudi Arabia : ideology and behavior among the elite by Soraya. Altorki
Call Number: HQ1730 .A66 1986
Location: Library North 4
ISBN: 0231061838

Includes chapters on "Home and Household" and Marriage."
Gulf women by Amira El Azhary Sonbol
Call Number: HQ1729.5 .G85 2012
Location: Library North 4
ISBN: 9992142685

Includes chapters entitled: "The Family in Gulf History", "Gender Rights and Islamic Legal Tradition: An Exploration", and :Gulf Women and the Codification of Muslim Family Law."
The Islamic marriage contract : case studies in Islamic family law
Call Number: KBP572 .I85 2008
Location: Law Library
ISBN: 067402821X

Includes a chapter entitled "Marriage Contracts and Women’s Rights in Saudi Arabia: Mahr, Shurut, and Knowledge Distribution" by Lisa Wynn.
Gender and equality in Muslim family law : justice and ethics in the Islamic legal tradition by Ziba Mir-Hosseini
Call Number: KBP540.3 .G46 2013
Location: Law Library
ISBN: 1848859228

Includes two good chapters related to family law in Islam:
1) Introduction: Muslim family law and the question of equality; and 2) Justice, equality and Muslim family laws: new ideas, new prospects.
Women and Muslim family laws in Arab states : a comparative overview of textual development and advocacy by Lynn Welchman
Call Number: KBP540.32 .W45 2007
Location: Law Library
ISBN: 905356974X

Combines an examination of women’s rights under Muslim family law in Arab states across the Middle East with discussions of the public debates surrounding the issues that have been raised during these processes of codification and amendment.

India Web Sources

India, a country study
Includes brief essays on Family and Marriage. Citation information: Heitzman, James and Robert L. Worden, eds. India: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1995.
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Converts Marriage Dissolution Act, 1866
An Act to legalize under certain circumstances, the dissolution of marriages of 2 Converts to Christianity.
Indian Divorce Act, 1869
An Act to amend the law relating to Divorce and Matrimonial
Causes.
Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872
An Act to consolidate and amend thee law relating to the solemnization in India of the marriages of Christians.
Birth Deaths and Marriages Registration Act, 1886
An Act to provide for the voluntary registration of certain births and deaths, for the establishment of General Registry Offices for keeping registers of certain births, deaths
and marriages, and for certain other purposes.
The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929
Sets limits on adult/child marriages.
The Parsi Marriage And Divorce Act, 1936
An Act to amend the law relating to marriage and divorce among Parsis (an ethnic Persian member of Zoroastrian communities in India).
Arya Marriage Validation Act, 1937
An Act to recognize and remove doubts as to the validity of inter-marriages current among Arya Samajists. Arya Samajists are members of a Hindu reform movement founded by Swami Dayananda on 7 April 1875. See the following article in the Encyclopaedia Britannica for more info: Arya Sama
Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act 1939
An Act to consolidate and clarify the provisions of Muslim Law relating to suits for dissolution of marriage by women married under Muslim Law and to remove doubts as to the effect of the renunciation of Islam by a married woman on her marriage tie.
The Indian Matrimonial Causes (War Marriages) Act, 1948
An Act to confer upon Courts temporary jurisdiction in certain matrimonial causes.
The Special Marriage Act, 1954
An Act to provide a special form of marriage in certain cases, for the registration of such and certain other marriages and for divorce. See this Wikipedia article for an explanation.
Hindu Marriage Act of 1955
See this Wikipedia article for an explanation of the Act.
The Christian Marriage and Matrimonial Causes Bill, 1960
To amend and codify the law relating to marriage and matrimonial causes among Christians
Foreign Marriage Act, 1969
An Act to make provision relating to marriages of citizens of India outside India.
The Muslim Women (Protection Of Rights On Divorce) Act, 1986
An Act to protect the rights of Muslim women who have been divorced by, or have obtained divorce from, their husbands and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Here's a brief explanation of the Act from Wikipedia.
The Prohibition Of Child Marriage Act, 2006
An Act to provide for the prohibition of solemnisation of child marriages and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. See this article for a discussion of the key points of the act. See also this handbook from Unicef and this article from Wikipedia on child marriage in India.
The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 (PDF)
Amendment to the 1955 Act.
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Family Courts Act, 1984
Family Courts were established in India with a view to amicably settle family disputes. See the following document for an explanation of the act and why it was needed.
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Family Law and Religion - The Indian Experience, by Anil Malhotra and Ranjit Malhotra (PDF)
Discussion of India marriage and family law within a religious context. The authors are partners in the firm of Malhotra & Malhotra Associates International Lawyers, Chandigarh, India.
Family Law Reforms in India: Historical and Judicial Perspectives
A paper by Divij Joshi of the National Law School of India University. Click the "Download this Paper" button to access.
Gender Inequality and Religious Personal Laws in India
By Archana Parashar, Associate Professor, Macquarie University. The author argues for replacing India's religious personal laws with gender-just family laws.