ちょっとした昔のニュース

Gulfnews: Newly: wed bride wants to divorce bald spouse(via:Secret Dubai Diary

A woman who agreed to marry a man after seeing a photograph of him in traditional headdress is demanding a divorce after she discovered he was in fact bald.
(中略)
The prospective bride saw the man portrayed in local headgear and agreed to marry him.
After signing the marriage contract the couple met face to face and the wife was shocked to discover her new husband was bald. She immediately refused to live with him and decided to file for divorce.
In her claim, she said she had been cheated and did not want a bald husband. She maintained she would never have married him had she known he was bald.
(中略)
He said he also wanted a divorce. The couple have not been officially divorced and court officials are still trying to settle the dispute.

UAEで、伝統的なかぶりものを着けたままの男性の見合い写真を見て結婚に合意した女性が、結婚契約書にサインした後に男性と対面して、禿ていることにショックを受け、一緒に住むことを拒否し、離婚訴訟を起こすことに決めた、という話を有名ブログ(Secret Dubai Diary)経由で見つけたのでご紹介まで。ちなみに2005年のニュースです。
こういう話を見ると、こんなことで離婚できるかもしれないなんて石油に浮いた国は自由だなあ、とも思いますし、でも案外エジプトでもこういう話はあるのかもしれません。むしろ古典の笑話なんかにもありそうな話ではあります。
ただ、今夏目漱石の『行人』を読んでますが、主人公の妹かなにかがやはり実際に対面することなくほぼ婚姻が決まった様子で、意外とこういう結婚形式も自分からそう遠いものでもないのかな、とも思いました。