Marriage & citizenship laws?

[Galia Baryk]

OKAY SO. Been reading the information pages for the fiftieth time, and had a few questions come to mind, considering the amount of discrimination and culture that's been brought up between the two groups.

1) How does the government of Escova view marriage? Is it considered a religious or civil practice? Are there any specific practices or ceremonies tied to these unions? Should one assume this is a predominantly heteronormative society, and same sex partnerships get a big frowny face?

2) Do the local laws acknowledge marriage practices of Refugee cultures at all? Can a Citizen marry a Refugee, and by extension, does that grant a refugee citizenship or any form of legal spousal protection/rights?

3) Does a child of refugees who is born on the islands still count as a Refugee, or can they obtain citizenship through birth? Does a child of one Citizen parent and a Refugee parent count as a Citizen, or wind up being stuck with the Refugee parent?

Aaaand I think I'm done. For now.

[Zaman Jaraei]

Alright!

/Rubs hands.

I can probably field 2 and 3, and I guess Dun gets to decide on 1.

For 2, as far as Escovans are concerned, the Refugees are 'temporary'. Basically, I think the pervading culture is that one day, they will go back. However, marriages are recognized on a social level. If a Refugee man says that a Refugee woman is his wife, it's generally not contested (because no one in Escova cares, lol). Since Refugees technically have no 'rights' (no say in how things go, little access to quality legal services), it is assumed their marriages are not recorded or codified as a traditional Escovan marriage might. So marriage itself for refugees would be more or less personal-- and almost completely confined to the Sector. From what I understand, if anything other than the union of a man and a woman is presented to a judge, it will not be seen as valid-- and that too if the Judge decides the two are married at all. However, within the Refugee Quarter, almost anything goes due to lax authority. So I'm sure some Refugees still (secretly) practice polygamy, child-marriages etc etc...

Part 2...of 2. A citizen can marry a refugee and that union will be seen as legal (take the Queen for example). The children will also be seen as Citizens-- even though they might be discriminated against for being half-refs.

3. Since its been about 22 years, children born to two Refugee parents are not seen as citizens. Some have tried to assimilate the blend into the wider society, and although on a social level they may fit they mould, they are still technically refugees. As stated in 2, any child born to a citizen is a full citizen-- though how that child grows and self-identifies can add an additional layer to that complexity.

And that's about it, I think. Dun may have other ideas regarding this, so I would hear what she has to say before making any concrete decisions...

[Galia Baryk]

Awesome. Thanks for the answers!

And I have one more bonus question that occurred to me, because I'm annoying that way:

Is it possible for a Refugee to be legally adopted by a Citizen? Either in the case of a Refugee parent marrying a Citizen and having their Refugee child join them, or simply a benevolent Citizen taking some poor orphan on.

[Dun]

That would be possible, legally. There would still be plenty of discrimination toward a citizen-adopted refugee, though. He/she would, for the most part, be counted as a citizen in legal matters, but many would consider him/her a refugee. It could be an interesting thing to explore.

Ohhey, I should answer the first question, too. ONE SEC. XD

How does the government of Escova view marriage?
Marriage is a legal and religious union. In a marriage, a woman essentially transfers from the control of her family head (usually her father) to her husband. She's bound to him in terms of financial holdings and possessions and whatnot.

Is it considered a religious or civil practice?
Marriage itself would be a religious practice with civil implications (that transfer of property, etc. etc.). People could have a sort of civil union, having a personal union and handling their assets as married persons would, but it wouldn't be recognized as marriage by most, and it would likely be frowned upon (if you consider that most people would follow the Pryist religion).

Are there any specific practices or ceremonies tied to these unions?
I haven't thought about it before now, but I imagine there would be quite a few traditions of ceremonies for marriages. Bodies of water would be common sites of marriage in addition to actual temples. Practices might vary based on locations, but for now I'd urge people to keep the importance of water in mind, as the seas were supposedly created by both the spirits according to the Pryist creation story and water has massive spiritual relevance at all stages of life.

Should one assume this is a predominantly heteronormative society, and same sex partnerships get a big frowny face?
For devout Pryists, it is absolutely a heteronormative society. That doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of people who stray from that, both openly and secretly, but according to Pryism, men and women are supposed to come together much like the two spirits and the Seer and the Martyr. They're taking their cues from the creation story, and the history of the Seer, noting the way that their religion suggests men and women come together to create some sort of balanced whole. Refugee cultures would vary a lot, and more than a few would likely deviate from these ideas.