If I do marry a Kuwaiti man before I'm 25 then we are contributing to the "grave threat on Kuwaiti society" known as spinsterhood because I am foreign. Loooooooooooooooooooooooooool!
Arab Times, Kuwait City, July 25, 2010
Rising number of spinsters poses grave threat to society
Att Majdi attributes problem to Kuwaiti traditions
The rising number of unmarried Kuwaiti women aged 25 to 65 — around 30,000 according to a statistical report released recently by the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI) — poses a grave threat to the Kuwaiti society, since the steps taken to reduce this number, including the administrative barriers set against Kuwaiti men marrying non-Kuwaitis, have not yielded the desired results.
The experts have warned against the rising number of unmarried Kuwaiti women from the aforementioned age group, considering a majority of these women usually complete their education around the age of 23.
While most people agree on the negative impact of this phenomenon on the society, their opinions vary on the causes of the rising number of unmarried Kuwaiti women.
Traditions
Attorney Mohammad Al-Majdi has attributed the problem to the Kuwaiti traditions, referring to the divisions in the society, as people in the country have been categorized into classes, tribes, rich and poor, pure origin or not. He believes most Kuwaiti women avoid marriage due to these factors.
Political activist Aysha Al-Omair opined being single has become an option for many Kuwaiti women due to the development of the society, allowing them to play an active role in the social and political arenas, so they might not prioritize marriage. She said women also delay marriage for many years as they want to focus first on career development.
Sharia Professor at Kuwait University Salem Al-Shammari pointed out the society’s failure to address the problem might lead to disorder, depravity and immorality. He claimed some people are actually committing grave sins by deliberately delaying the marriage of their sisters.
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By: Al-Sayeed Al-Qassas
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/157298/reftab/73/t/Rising-number-of-spinsters-poses-grave-threat-to-society/Default.aspx
The part about trying to make Kuwaitis unable to marry non-Kuwaitis is ridiculous!! People should be allowed to marry whomever they choose. What's next?! They make it illegal to be married to a foreigner and force my husband to divorce me and marry a Kuwaiti??
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that although spinsterhood has increased in the Gulf countries in recent years, it still has a less than cheerful conotation.
ReplyDeleteSnow: I couldn't believe my eyes when I read this article. Nobody should be able to tell you who you can and cannot marry. If Kuwaiti women were able to marry foreigners and pass down their nationality to their children then maybe there wouldn't be so many 'spinsters'. I'm not an expert on the subject so if anyone would like to elaborate then please do...
ReplyDeleteMo Mo, you better marry me within the next two years before I become a spinster ;P
ReplyDeleteMarriages in the gulf region are weak, even if they don't end up to be spinsters they'll end up getting divorced, the divorce rate especially in Kuwait is seriously high. My own parents divorced after 30 years of being together!
ReplyDeleteYes, divorce is an epidemic almost everywhere. I'm sorry about your parents. :( My friends are usually shocked when I tell them my parents are still together and happily married. Divorce is too common in the US.
ReplyDeletewe were talkin about this with the family the other day .. many laws in Kuwait are placed forwared but are against and contradict the Kuwaiti constitution .... those laws hopefully will not stand a chance ...like the law against women working after eight which proved to be a failure and they did not succeed with it ...
ReplyDeleteI hope you are right q8tb :)
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many of those women are boyatt and lesbos? There is a growing number of homosexuality here and since that's a taboo subject they blame it on the foreign women. There are so many soft guys here that they would probably get a beat down if they married Kuwaiti women. Even if they get married the divorce rate is so high. When they get divorced the women receive 450 KD and other benefits so if one gets married and thinks the guy sucks they still receive money. I'm sorry my hubby prefers American rather than a Kuwaiti woman. I used to work with a Kuwaiti girl and she used to get all shy when the cute white contactor guy with blue eyes walked in. She told her family she wanted to marry a foreigner but in reality she knows she can't because of tradition and the problem with children and nationality.
ReplyDeleteCrazy, I think your Kuwaiti hubby made a good choice. I bet you two are so cute together. How did you meet each other? :) I think Snows hubby is lucky as well. It's nice to know there are so many happy American women married to Kuwaitis.
ReplyDeleteI know some Kuwaiti girls that are married to Americans ... three that I know of live in the states and others in Kuwait ... there are no laws that doesn't allow it its just depends on the family and their culture
ReplyDeleteDo their children have the same rights as the children of Kuwaiti men married to foreigners?
ReplyDeletenop they don't ... but that's been an issue that the women rights are working on getting ...
ReplyDelete