High wedding costs keep Egyptians over 30 single • FRANCE 24 English

In Cairo, this young couple is celebrating their union in full tradition. A camera crew, a sparkling wedding dress, and a reception with 200 guests. In Egypt, marriage customs remain a key social ritual. Marriage is very important. It protects people from wrongdoing like adultery. As soon as a man turns 20 or 21, he should get married. But you need a lot of money. It’s expensive. Beyond the festivities, the groom is expected to buy an apartment, gold jewelry, and payi. The bride’s family provides home appliances, kitchen wear, and linens. The total cost thousands of euros, an amount increasingly out of reach, even for Egypt’s middle class. Since March 2022, Egypt’s economy has been in freefall. The pound has lost 70% of its value and prices for basic goods have more than tripled. In this village south of Cairo, Ununice has been engaged for 3 years, but he still can’t afford to get married. He needs to save around €4,000 to offer 50 g of gold to his fiance. But as a baker, he only earns around €80 a month. Getting married today is more expensive than before. Gold used to be cheap. Now people take on debt. Marriage has become a burden for young people. May God help us. In his village, this sha is trying to change the mindset, encouraging families to ease the financial pressure around marriage. [Applause] Some weddings today cost up to 17,000. What young person can afford that? No one has that kind of money. We hope to ease the burden so our children can marry and stop putting all these obligations on their shoulders. In his sermons, the SE suggest reducing the gold dowy from 50 g to just 10. He hopes to be able to change people’s mentalities little by little.

In Egypt, over 13.5 million men and women over 30 are single—more than half of that age group. Behind these numbers is a deepening economic crisis. Since March 2022, the Egyptian pound has lost 70% of its value against the euro, while the public sector minimum wage remains around just 100 euros a month. On top of this, getting married is becoming increasingly expensive, putting additional financial pressure on many young adults and contributing to the rising number of singles.
#Egypt #wedding

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19 comments

  1. Lol… Keep buying bs.
    The ring, the party, the honey moom…
    All bs. Weddings are a celebration of two people sharing a life together.
    No need to spend a miserable married life paying for…
    Enough with the business advertisement!!!

  2. After marriage, people don’t stop doing wrong things… they just get better at hiding it from their spouse!"Marriage isn’t a moral upgrade—it’s just a lifetime subscription to ‘Did you seriously just do that?’"

  5. This is what happens when women are looked at like a commodity and not an actual human. The women are being sold to the man so the womans family is going to want a high price.

  13. To keep it simply, the cities can host mass marriage ceremonies, allowing couples to pay $500 for everything – paperwork, certifications, photos, website & newspaper announcements + a dowry percentage. It would also create a state trust fund for marriage after the first year.

  14. The more simple the celebration is the more genuine, joyous and peaceful it is with true happiness. Wasting so much money can be utilised for basic and genuine needs. Dowry should be adjusted according to financial conditions. It’s a problem in other societies too.

  16. If you are worried 😯 about wedding cost ‼️ Just wait for life after marriage ⚭ 😅 no money 💵 is enough. Ask Jeff Buzos 😅😊

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