Discovered an interesting article regarding the problem of a drastic increase of unmarried Saudi women within the Kingdom. This ties in with my overall premise that socio-economic strife can be reasonably predicted as the Saudis face the challenge of 50% of their population being under 18 years of age, growing up in a relatively stagnant economy with little economic hope, or unwillingness to perform the menial jobs filled by the 5 million ex-patriates which reside in the kingdom:

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?

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=9§ion=0&article=37399&d=2&m=1&y=2004

Another article I found via a websearch goes into greater depth on the issue and discusses how the average dowery a Saudi male is expected to pay equates to about $53,000. This is quite a sum for your average unemployed (or underemployed) Saudi male:

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1019653/posts

COMMENT:

I opine that the demographic within the Muslim world, but in particular the Mid-East, is a major influence upon the recent rise of Islamic militancy. It's little wonder that, when 40% of the muslim world is under 18 years of age, that restless youth with no viable hope of having their economic aspirations and dreams fulfilled, would turn to those who claim to have the answer.

One only has to imagine how the political picture would compare in the US were 50% of our population under 18 and dealing with 30% functional unemployment (and far higher in countries other than Saudi Arabia). These young people would be very impressionable and susceptible to reactionary/radical and militant ideas, whether political or religious.

I believe this is a crucial part of fighting the "War on Terror", and seems to be one of the driving strategies of the Neo-Conservative movement. However, some are theorizing that he Neocons within the Bush administration are falling from grace and the "realists" movement coming back into vogue..

The US will make a major strategic error if we fail to assist in resolving the economic and social problems within the region, something along the lines of a Mid-East Marshall plan. We'll lack any measure of influence (the kind that money can buy), and we'll still eventually bear the brunt of criticism and resentment as the militant clerics continue to assert that their economic plight is due to a US/Zionist conspiracy.

It is sure that democratic reforms would take many years to take root in the Mid-East, but every journey begins with the first step. And ever since the fall of the Ottomans, and subsequent carving up into artificial states, of its empire, there has been little effort to demand such democratic reforms.

This is certainly a situation that must change if we're to avoid 400 million muslims (based upon total 1 Billion population) facing a bleak economic future and looking for someone to blame.

The Central Scrutinizer