JEDDAH, 9 July 2003 — Efforts are being made to dissuade Saudi men from marrying foreigners.
Al-Riyadh daily said the Ministries of the Interior and Information had teamed up to create a television program called “The Drawbacks and Problems of Marrying Foreigners” to drive their point home.
“It’s not true that marriages to foreigners are less costly or happier than marriages to our girls,” the newspaper quoted an Interior Ministry official as saying. “Foreign women bring with them a lot of problems to the home and society.”
Non-Saudi women often find it difficult to adapt to the social environment of the Kingdom. But steep dowries discourage many Saudi men from marrying their compatriots.
Many marriages between Saudis are arranged by their families. Husbands often have to pay for elaborate wedding parties.
