Matchmakers, Money, Marraige. Nice combination eh?

Marriage.
A word both feared and encouraged in the Egyptian culture. So many Egyptian women my age are frantically searching (modestly of course) for their perfect match before they hit the age of 25, because of course when you are God-forbid close to 30 and unmarried, you are a quickly labeled a ‘spinster’ and too old for any decent man to take interest in you. Horrifying. I cannot imagine having that kind of pressure on me to hurry up and get married like 99.9% of the girls here do. Even at 18 or 19 it becomes an issue within families to make sure their daughters are proper girls and suitable for a good husband. And to be aware of the semi-arranged marriages that occur every single day is insane. Imagine you very Mother (no offense mama!), the same one who raised an angry eyebrow to every boy you ever mentioned, to play your matchmaker?? No bueno.
So here is the rundown. For families who are into this arranged marriage deal, the son who at times is too shy to find a girlfriend in a social setting, decides he is ready to find a wife and of course his mother and father know the perfect girl for him that can meet all of his qualifications for a future wife. An outing is planned, completely causal of course, where both families proudly arrive with their marketable son and daughter and hope for the best. If all goes well, they will meet in a similar setting (never alone of course) numerous more times until after a few months are engaged. Wedding plans. Money plans. Married. The end.
I had a loooong conversation with a couple Egyptians who are only a couple years younger than me about this whole marriage issue and they had some VERY interesting and liberal-minded comments on it. One AIESECer, just 19 years of age, is feeling ridiculous stress from her family and her mother to find a suitable partner. It seems to her and many other girls that settling for an engagement to a man who is practical or decent is better than waiting around for an extra 5+ years to find someone who you actually have love for or who you feel is right for you. But she is also one of those thinkers that has a mind of her own and sees no problem with forgetting society by sticking to her guns and not conforming to the whole marriage thing. Practical. Many marriages happen because both families come from high classes and they union between power families are just practical. She knows that she will always be taken care of so why not right? Which brings me to yet another point. Before a marriage can even happen the groom and his family are traditionally supposed to have everything taken care of financially such as the house, car, furniture, and the whole lot. So basically the bride just shows up with gorgeous dress. Lately both families are contributing more however the woman is not expected to provide too much. Even during a marriage where both the wife and husband work, they money made by the husband is shared and the money made by the wife is for her to keep for herself. The wife is not meant to bring anything to table for the family because the husband needs to keep his manhood and power ya?
Even though all this mess happens on the daily, trust me that there are still a great number of beautiful and loving couples such as my HR manager Riham and her husband-to-be Mahmood.
Ok enough enough, I can’t continue talking about this subject without getting irritated. All I know is that I’m tired of people asking me when I’m getting married, or why I’m not married or engaged. I’M 22 AND A POOR STUDENT! OF COURSE I’M NOT MARRIED!
So ladies back home, be grateful for your rights to marry or not to marry, I know that I am.