Staff Reporter
EXORBITANT mehr (dowry), reluctance shown by young Qataris towards marriage, and the spiralling cost of living are among the factors cited for the increasing cases of spinsterhood among Qatari women, according to a report in local Arabic daily Arrayah.
Prominent Qatari poet Hessa al-Awadi said that dowries exceeded QR500,000, especially among wealthy families. “They do not deem half a million as a big burden for the groom as the family of the bride has to pay for the wedding hall as well as the extremely expensive wedding gown,” she told the daily.
However, Hassan Jawhar, an employee at the Ministry of Finance, finds fault with young Qataris.
“I do not believe those men who say that they cannot get married because of the dowries, because they can easily afford QR500,000 to buy a luxurious car like a Porsche even if they are fresh graduates. But when it comes to marriage they claim that they cannot even afford a dowry of QR100,000,” he said.
Another Qatari, Yacob Abdullah, said young men who shied away from marriage on the pretext of high dowries were “irresponsible”.
“These men are just trying to live a reckless life and evade family responsibilities and burdens. They complain about the exaggerated requirements made by the family of the bride, but they do not hesitate at all when it comes to the purchase of a luxurious car for more than QR200,000,” he said.
Mona Mohamed, a student at Qatar University, was of the view that the dowry problem was a part of the modern concept of marriage in Qatari society.
“The rise in dowries is just a result of an overall spiralling cost of living including the wedding requirements. Some brides now are not only asking for dowry but also for a luxurious car, wedding gown and parties to show off,” she told the daily.
Shamma Abdullah, an employee at Hamad Medical Corporation, said dowries started from QR80,000, which she felt was not exorbitant at all.
“I know young Qatari men who start their lives by getting big loans just to buy a luxurious car, special cell phone numbers, and go on holidays at world class resorts. But they do not show the same enthusiasm for getting loans for marriage,” she said.
Qatari housewife Umm Fahd, who has five sons, believes that the rising cost of living in Qatar is the main reason for the recent rise in dowry.
“Each of my sons is asking for a separate house. There is a hike in the prices of all commodities. I think that dowry can come down only if the cost of living also comes down,” she said.
Prominent Qatari scholar Sheikh Ahmed Abu al-Ainain said the rise in the number of spinsters and bachelors in Qatar was due to the high dowry demands.
“Nobody can deny that high dowry is a hindrance to Qatari men seeking to get married,” he was quoted as saying.
Sheikh Abu al-Ainain also criticised what he described as “extravagant practices” by some Qatari families just to raise their social profile.
“Some practices like reserving halls at hotels to give a wedding party or printing highly expensive wedding cards are not Islamic at all. Some families pay QR15,000 to 30,000 just for a few hours in a wedding hall,” he added.