The prime financial sponsors of the festival were Saudi businessmen Omer Saleh Babker and Abdullah Ahmed Bugshan in conjunction with other local companies and NGOs.
This year more than 2,200 brides and grooms from seven governorates (Hadramout, Aden, Taiz, Shabwa, Mahra, Al-Jawif, Mareb and Abean) tied the knot in the festival that started in April 13.
Adel Al-Juaidi, chief organizer of the festival, said getting married has become like a pie in the sky for many Yemenis due to poverty, skyrocketing dowries and some social mores.
“To solve this problem, the idea of the festival came into existence. We were the first in the republic who brought together 45 charities under one umbrella called the Afaf Festival to help unmarried people to walk down the aisle. One of the aims of the festival is to reduce the number of spinsters in Yemen.”
In 2008, 1,100 couples were married in the first festival. The main activities of the festival included Qur'an recitation, a fishing-boat parade and other programs.
Each groom is given 65,000 Yemeni rials ($290), a gold necklace, a ring and clothes. Another 30,000 rials ($133) and a meal for 300 is granted to the bride’s family. Eligible grooms must be employed and have to be unmarried.
The couples were given intensive courses talking about how to shoulder responsibilities of family. The wedding receptions were held at different places of the republic.
