‘Two million Saudis remain un-married’

The high cost of ceremonies and dowries has been cited among six major reasons for delayed marriages in Saudi Arabia.

A study said that the choice of a spouse based on the family criteria and not on personal standards, low tolerance about the social status of the potential spouse’s family and the impact of failed marriages of other couples were also among the major reasons around two million Saudi men and women did not get married.

The uncompromising insistence on specific conditions and the misleading information about the concept of marriages were the other reasons for late or no marriages at all, the study by the Scientific Endowment at King Abdul Aziz University (KAU) said, local daily Al Sharq reported.

“There are at least 45 major misconceptions about the notion of marriages in Saudi Arabia,” Isam Kawthar, the Scientific Endowment executive director, said.

“The study concluded that six topped the list of delayed marriages.

Other reasons cited by some of the participants were the focus on a professional career, the weakness of social relations, the concern about some physical and psychological issues, the fear from commitment to new responsibilities and concern about domestic violence,” he said.