Handbook of Marriage in the Arab World

Ahmed Aref is an experienced policy-research expert, working on evidence-based policy developments including research, interdisciplinary policy analysis, impact assessment, program management and advocacy at national, regional and international levels. Prior to joining the Qatar Foundation, he worked for UNFPA Arab States Regional Office, the EU Program on Family and Child Rights, and in the Egyptian Prime Minister’s Office. His publications and broader areas of expertise include politics of social policies, labour and family policies, social protection and resilience mechanisms, migration and social inclusion/exclusion, maternity and child protection and wellbeing, fertility and populations dynamics, sustainable development, empowerment to the most vulnerable, social justice and policy response during crises. He leads strategic initiatives an has managed impact-oriented programs including consultancies in the mentioned fields. He has also contributed to numerous national, regional and international conferences and EGMs. Ahmed holds a PhD in Policy Research and Practice, from the Institute of Policy Research, Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath, UK Md Mizanur Rahman is a Research Associate Professor and graduate Faculty in the Gulf Studies Program and Center, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Sociology from the National University of Singapore (NUS), for which he was supported by the prestigious NUS research scholar award and the Social Science Research Council (US) fellowship. Prior to joining Qatar University in 2018, Dr Rahman served various institutions including Asia Research Institute (NUS, Singapore), Department of Sociology (NUS, Singapore), Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS, Singapore), and University Brunei Darussalam (UBD, Brunei Darussalam). In his research and teaching, he focuses on Area Studies, migration, and development in the context of the Arab Gulf States. His research sites are interregional, encompassing the Arab Gulf States, Southeast Asia and South Asia. His publications include twelve books, fifteen book chapters, and thirty-five journal articles. His books have been published by reputed academic publishers like Oxford University Press, Palgrave Macmillan, Routledge, and Springer Nature, among others. Four of his articles are ranked as the top ten cited and/or downloaded articles in ISI journals in various years. Dr Rahman is an editor of two Springer Nature book series and sits on a number of editorial boards of international journals. He was a member of Migration Research Leaders Syndicate for the 2018 Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, formed and spearheaded by the IOM - the UN Migration Agency based in Geneva. In 2024, he received the Research Excellence Award in the Humanities and Social Sciences from the College of Arts and Sciences of Qatar University.

• The State of Marriage in the Arab Gulf: The UAE, Bahrain, Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait.- The State of Marriage in the Arab Maghreb: Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania.- The State of Marriage in the Arab Mashreq: Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon.- The State of Marriage in Somalia, Djibouti, and Comoros.- The State of Marriage in Egypt.- The State of Marriage in Sudan.- The State of Marriage in Yemen.