Family Life

In rural communities, parents and their children live in each tent or compound. Each compound is named for the married woman who owns the tent. She may make her husband leave the tent if she divorces him. Fathers are the disciplinarians of the family. But other men, especially the uncles on the mother's side, often play and joke with small children. Grandmothers have a close, affectionate relationship with the children. Cousins have a relaxed relationship  by teasing and joking. Relationships with in-laws are reserved, distant, and respectful. Traditionally, the Tuareg have married within their own social category, preferably to a close cousin. In the towns, both of these traditions are breaking down. In rural areas, they remain strong. 

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                                   A photo of Tuareg family from http://www.jump4timbuktu.org/