But women have fewer chances to emigrate, since their families don't want them to travel abroad alone. And remaining at home is no solution. Within Arab society, women are under immense pressure to marry, especially if they have no profession. Meanwhile, sexual contact outside marriage is hardly possible. The chronic dilemma has intensified, increasing already overwhelming burdens.
Societies have different ways of absorbing strain.
Sometimes the adjustment is positive, sometimes not. In Iraq's case, coping with the gender imbalance created by the sanctions has led some families to adopt polygamy as a solution for their daughters' limited marriage choices. To assure their daughters a future as mothers and some kind of economic security, parents are offering their daughters as second, junior wives. The marriages are legal. Arranged by the family, they generally involve an older man already supporting a wife and children.