Last week the Shoura Council invited a number of women writers and journalists to a session devoted to discussing the problem of the high dowries that make marriage extremely expensive in the Kingdom.
Having been among those who attended the session, I would like first to thank the Chairman of the Shoura Council Dr. Saleh Bin-Humaid for the invitation and for the warm welcome we were accorded. The chairman and council members have indeed shown a great deal of tolerance and objectivity during the deliberations. Apart from being squeezed into a narrow place overlooking the spacious floor down, the session was very useful and the hospitality with which we were met was overwhelming.
I must say I found the Council members fully acquainted with the problem, as well as with other issues facing Saudi youth and society at large. My expectation that I would be listening to a futile debate was proved wrong.
Costly marriage and especially the high dowry demanded by families are now a favorite topic in any discussion. This is a pressing issue that is widely being debated in the media. It continues to be surrounded by a lot of ignorance, and many may not be aware of its dimensions and implications. Sometimes it is blown out of proportion and portrayed as a major social problem threatening society.
Sometimes it is underestimated with some even saying it should be totally ignored considering any discussion a waste of time. Employment and the shortage of affordable homes have been citied as main reasons behind young people steering clear of marriage.
What is important is the way we handle the problem. In 1987 the minister of justice commissioned a study on dowries. The committee given the task relied on an earlier study conducted by King Saud University in Riyadh. At that time the per capita income of Saudis was very high due the high oil revenues.
After much effort and time the committee reached the conclusion that there was no need to fix the amount of dowries and recommended instead educating people and instilling in them the social values that encourage and facilitate marriage and avoid the culture of consumerism.
The Shoura members have stressed that dowries should be viewed as a phenomenon and not a problem in themselves, and that the priorities for Saudi citizens should focus on providing jobs and houses as well as solving other pressing issues facing a society where 65 percent of the population are under the age of 17.
We shouldn’t have spent all this time and wasted all this effort trying to solve a conundrum that could have been solved long ago if we had just listened to what our research centers were saying.
Arab News From the Local Press 25 October 2003
