ABSTRACT
Mate selection is one of the most researched aspects of marriage. The age at marriage of the women in our sample was late. Several factors were mentioned by the women as attracting them to their future spouse initially, and many of these factors indicate both what women seek in partnerships generally, as well as what is appealing about foreign men in particular. The general picture emerging from the interviews was that these women were attracted by the same personal qualities as those who do not marry out. This suggests that personality and situational factors relating to the women themselves may yield clues relevant to their marital choice. Most women reported that they felt sure that their then boyfriend was ‘the right man’ for them to marry. Romantic attachment between the would-be partners was overtly or implicitly given as the main reason for marriage in most cases.
