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Politics : War -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: hdl who wrote (18896)	1/16/2003 10:28:00 PM
From: Machaon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 23908

Better late than never. The longer we wait to take out Saddamn, the greater the risk. OTOH, I wish the world was trying to put a hit on the awful North Korean leaders. Why is it that the U.S. is the only major country trying to protect the world? Where is China? Where is Russia? Of course, most of the Arab nations are worthless, except for their oil.

To: hdl who wrote (18896)	1/17/2003 7:51:47 AM
From: lorne	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 23908

Spinsterhood on the rise in Kingdom By a Staff Writer RIYADH, 17 January 2003 — Saudis are increasingly debating the phenomenon of spinsterhood, with the number of unmarried women in the Kingdom estimated to be as high as 1.5 million. The local media have sounded the alarm bells and called on the authorities and community leaders to address the issue. Saudis were woken up to the issue with the publication in July of the findings of a study indicating that the number of spinsters will rise to four million within five years if no action is taken to reverse the trend. The study, by a sociology professor at King Saud University, Dr. Abdullah Alfouzan, also revealed that there were 18,000 divorces in the Kingdom in 2001, compared to 60,000 marriages. The Shoura Council recently asked 50 Saudi female intellectuals and educationalists to present strategies for dealing with the sensitive issue. They advised Saudi families — and women in particular — to accept a more modest dowry. Some communities in different parts of the Kingdom are resorting to group marriages, occasionally sponsored by charities, to cut costs and encourage weddings. Others are seeking the services of matchmakers and the Internet. However, none of this represents a viable long-term solution to the problem, according to the study. Speaking to the Kuwait News Agency, a number of Saudi women expressed the opinion that tackling spinsterhood requires the close cooperation of the authorities, the public and the media. An economics professor at King Abdul Aziz University, Dr. Ibtisam Abdulrahman Halwani, said the issue was first noticed with Saudi women increasingly pursuing higher levels of education and at the same time refusing to marry anyone who was not wealthy. She pointed out that many Saudi men also prefer to remain single because of the prohibitively high cost of weddings. Dr. Halwani warned that many Saudi men are looking for foreign spouses as “easy alternatives” to the financial burden of marrying Saudi women. Such marriages are neither socially nor economically viable, she argued. As to matchmakers, Dr. Halwani said she also has reservations about this road to marriage as well. She pointed out that the matchmakers’ goal is to make money “without consideration to other essential issues such as religious and moral commitment” and social compatibility. (KUNA) arabnews.com