Love & marriage in Egypt and Taiwan – Whose choice is it? | Us & Them | DW Documentary

Getting married, starting a family, children – topics that often trigger heated discussions. While parents often vouch for traditional values and security, young people have their own ideas. Young people like Yoyo in Taiwan and Esraa in Egypt.

Yoyo lives with her parents in Taipei. She’s 30 years old; her mother already had two children at that age. Her announcement that she plans to marry a woman comes as a shock to her parents. Same-sex marriages were only legalized in Taiwan in 2019. Although the country is one of the most liberal in Asia, Yoyo’s parents fear she’ll be marginalized and suffer discrimination. And: Yoyo wants to have children.

It's a largely similar picture in Esraa’s home city Cairo. She’s also in her early thirties and lives with her parents. The big difference here is that Esraa has already started a family. But her marriage has failed – like so many young marriages in Egypt. The nation has one of the highest divorce rates in the world. But Esraa’s parents believe marriage should last forever. They’re torn – they don’t understand their daughter, but they also don’t want to cut her off. How can they support Esraa and their little granddaughter? Should she stand on her own two feet – or re-marry as soon as possible?

In many parts of the world, parents often get involved in their adult children’s family planning. Sometimes, this well-meaning support becomes a burden and ends up creating huge pressure. But even still, grandparents are important too.

#documentary #dwdocumentary #egypt #taiwan
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