This story from The Washington Post deals with the problems surrounding mixed-caste marriages in India, I think it has something to say about the problems of inter-tribal marriages in Saudi Arabia. Both societies have those who put too much emphasis on the past or on bloodlines; both have social barriers thrown up in front of those not of the ‘right’ grouping. Those who demand ‘purity’ try to justify their beliefs by linking them with religious mandates.

There are difference, of course. On the one hand, Saudis rarely kill newlyweds because of the marriages. On the other, they do invoke the power of government to force divorces. India has been trying to address the issue for the past 60 years. Saudi Arabia is only getting started. Though it is not as big an issue in the Kingdom, it is still an issue when courts can demand and enforce a divorce.

Can Love Conquer Caste?
Indian Government Supports Mixed Unions, But Couples Who Defy System Face Violence
Emily Wax

NEW DELHI — She was a gutsy student leader known for hunger strikes and provocative street theater at universities across the country, exposing the plight of India’s beleaguered lower castes. He was a worldly gadfly with a passion for ending nuclear proliferation and exposing environmental crimes.

They fell in love in Iraq nearly 18 years ago while campaigning for peace before the Persian Gulf War. Their romance bloomed, and within three months they were engaged.

But their marriage a year later ushered in another war: In tying the knot, they openly defied India’s deeply entrenched taboos against inter-caste marriage. Anita Pharti, now 42, came from the Dalit caste, still known as untouchables, the lowest in India’s social order. Her husband, Rajeev Singh, 45, is a Rajput, traditionally a landholding caste that had for centuries ruled over Pharti’s peasant community.

“My family was completely aghast,” Singh recalled, sitting with Pharti in their cozy living room, where they have helped clandestine inter-caste couples elope. “My father said he wouldn’t let it happen. But I felt so sure about Anita. We were able to fight back. But we were the lucky ones. Many still get murdered for this.”
…