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CAIRO – 29 January 2019: The term 'spinster' is exactly as offensive to many cultures as its equivalent in Arabic "Aanes". However, a number of social media users have launched "Khaliha Te'anes" hashtag, translated into "let her become a spinster" in efforts to convince a probably undefined party to bring down marriage expenses.
A humble apartment will cost not less than LE 150,000 ($8,500) while preparing it may take another LE 100,000. It is so hard for a man to prepare himself for marriage nowadays; most people get help from their parents so they can marry, Mostafa Mohamed, a single engineer, 25, said.
Marriage is not bad, but life is hard. How would you bear the expenses of marriage and life after marriage? A user on one of the closed groups only allowed for men said, complaining about the unsatisfying economic situation in the country and the continuous price hike.
One of the most significant traditions in Arab countries, including Egypt, is that many parents can reject a man who wants to marry their daughter, because he is poor, he does not own a luxurious apartment, he does not have a prestigious car, or he cannot offer a comparatively valuable “shabka”, which is the jewelry granted by the man before he is affianced to the woman he wishes to marry. “Shabka" is claimed to be a gift. However, men find themselves obligated to buy them for their future fiancées in most cases.
Numerous Egyptian men have been spotted on public and private groups advising other men to marry Syrian women who have resorted to Egypt since the violent incidents in Syria, as they do not ask for “shabka” or other elusive expenses before and after marriage.
Although many officials have voiced condemnation over the "offensive" campaign, men and women have been taking the campaign sarcastically.
Maya Morsi, head of the National Council for Women, expressed her dissatisfaction with such campaigns, describing them as "unacceptable."
In an interview with Egypt Today, Morsi said that the wrong traditions which increase the expenses of marriage will not be solved by such campaigns. She also expressed displeasure with the term "spinsterhood," adding that "late marriage" should be used for both men and women instead.
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