Some Biological and Reproductive Aspects of Married Women Born in Palestine Over the Period 1920-1969

Objective: Evaluating variations in several reproductive aspects among married Palestinian women, over a period of 50 years.
Method: A questionnaire with the necessary information, was distributed to 1200 married Palestinian women, of whom 1044 responded. Illiterate women were interviewed by the researchers.
Results: Most women (91%) were younger than their husbands, compared to 5% where the husband was younger. The spousal age difference at marriage was vast; over 7 years. The mean age of marriage for men and women was 26.75 and 19.7 years, respectively. The educational level showed major differences between spouses. Illiteracy rate was 13 % for females, and less than 5% for males. One quarter of the husbands and 17.8% of wives achieved primary level education; the ratios for were 42.2% and 47.7%, respectively.
About 70.3% of marriages were non-consanguineous. 19.2% first cousins-paternal side, 8.2% first cousins-maternal side, and 2.3% were from the family. The mean age at menarche for all women was 13.5 years.
Conclusion: Palestinian men prefer to wed women considerably younger than their age. The progressive level of education indicates great achievements for women. Particularly since the mid-1970s. Contrary to public presumptions, most marriages.