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Politics : Foreign Policy Discussion Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (6434)	1/1/2004 10:32:02 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 15987

Very interesting supplement to the data related to Saudi Arabia's surging population. It would seem that a large percentage of new children born in the past 15 years have been girls.. And now they face spinsterhood. This will definitely impact the analysis as to how demographics are pressuring Saudi society (and increasing militancy): Alarming Rise in the Number of Unmarried Girls Abdullah Bajubeer It seems that our dear country is going to become one of the pioneers in producing unmarried women. Indeed we now have one million such women and the number is going to increase to four million in the next five years. This is the statement made by Dr. Abdullah Al-Fawzan, an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at King Saud University, and published in local newspapers. The reason, according to him, is our culture, which sets the ages between 18 and 24 as the desirable time for marriage. Once a young woman is 25, she joins the list of unmarried women, whereas in the rest of the world, a woman is considered marriageable until the end of her life. Dr. Al-Fawzan focuses on age as the main reason for the number of unmarried women. After a quarter of a century writing on the subject, I must say that there are other reasons equally important for the number of unmarried girls. One is the absence of social gatherings between families — these exist in other cultures and allow boys and girls to meet and get to know each other. At such gatherings, parents are of course present and aware of what their offspring are doing. In any case, these meetings often pave the way to engagement and marriage. Here too, there are high walls that surround a girl and prevent her from going out, talking to or meeting young men on different occasions. She becomes a hostage to house and wall, waiting for a groom. And I do not know how a prospective groom could overcome all these obstacles just so he could see his bride-to-be and get to know her. Then of course there is the problem of dowries and the cost of marrying, which a young man is unable to bear at so early a stage in his life. The reasons go on but the result is the same. Obviously, we will continue to have large numbers of unmarried girls as long as there is resistance to change. * * * One study of emotional life in the US showed that 50 percent of single women are between the ages of 40 and 69. Of that number, the majority are divorcees. The study also showed that a large number of single American women are not embarrassed about relationships with men much younger than them. This particular phenomenon has spread because of Hollywood stars being involved with young men half their age. The young men are thus encouraged to become involved with women who are more fit to play the role of “mother” rather than “girlfriend” or “lover”. Studies revealed that young men’s enthusiastic interest in older women is due to the fact that many women have important jobs, plenty of money as well as power and influence. And this has driven many young men to go after richer, older women. Psychologists explain that older women do not need to worry about possible pregnancy or any responsibility resulting from the relationship. She is in the relationship solely for purposes of pleasure. Some doctors say that most women who have relationships with younger men do so after they have brought up their own children and are seeking emotional enjoyment with the extra attraction of rejuvenating themselves. What is seen in modern American life is that older women chasing younger men have become usual. And American society has accepted the fact, feeling that each person is free in his or her personal life. Now, will other societies accept this or will it be confined to America? arabnews.com