CAIRO: After her first marriage ended, Hala, 35, decided to resort to alternative means of finding a compatible partner - marriage offices. Much to her family's discontent, Hala applied to a marriage office in hopes that it would match her up with a suitable husband. "I was told that there are offices to help single people, and it is my first time to apply to one of them, Hala, who refused to reveal her last name, said. "Who knows, maybe I will get married, she said, "Marriage means stability, family and security. However, Hala says she is well aware that those offices do not guarantee finding the perfect match. She said she will do her own investigations to find out more about the proposed groom before she gets involved. Marriage is a risky venture, she said, and "one can only pray to God that she is lucky enough to find the right husband. There are nine million single women in Egypt of marriageable age, according to latest statistics by Central Authority for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). Marriage offices can be considered an evolution of the conventional khatba, or matchmaker, usually a woman who uses her connections with different families to fix up single men and women. Marriage offices emerged 10 years ago with only three licensed offices. Today, there are more than 134 such offices operating in Egypt, according to CAPMAS. Another male applicant, 28, from outside Cairo who spoke on condition of anonymity, found it difficult to find "a simple, kind girl from a good family and at the same time beautiful in his hometown. Family and friends encouraged him to apply at one of the marriage offices. "I searched a lot but I couldn't find the right girl, and when I came here they told me that I will find a lot of girls with the criteria I am looking for, he said. Amir, 28, works in tourism and is looking for "a religious girl and a good housewife because, he said, even though the nature of his job requires him to travel a lot and meet people from all walks of life, he "must not stray from his [Middle Eastern] traditions. Amir was reluctant to apply at one of these offices at first, but was encouraged to do so when he friends told him that girls from suitable social class apply there as well. "I have a unique mentality and it will be difficult to find the right wife for me through traditional means, he said. However, he doesn't believe that these offices can solve the problem of marriage in Egypt - which he attributes to finances rather than finding a partner - because such offices mainly cater to upper classes. Applicants are required to fill a form with personal information such as profession, religion, weight and height and specify the criteria they are looking for in a partner. Some offices demand an initial fee that ranges from LE 50-500, while others only charge the couple if they decide they are compatible and get engaged. Applicants then go through the forms to pick the person they are interested in meeting. The office then arranges a meeting between the two at their headquarters. In the name of charity "Young people now have no time, everyone is busy with their jobs and they don't even see their relatives; what we do is help them find what they want quickly, said Tarek Mohamed, head of Al-Saqr Al-Zahaby marriage office. Mohamed, who considers his office's services "charity, says his office managed to set up more than 50 couples in the past two weeks. "A lot of divorced women and widows apply, as well as men seeking a second wife, he said. Mohamed said most of the applicants are of a high social caliber. He expects his business to gain more popularity. "The more people are preoccupied with their work, the more they will be dependent on marriage offices, Mohamed said. Hany Hassan, manager at Zawag, another marriage office, said that these offices help men and women who are looking for specific criteria, such as a profession or a social class, that they couldn't find elsewhere. Hassan believes that marriage was easier in the old days because people were well-mannered. Usually marriage offices follow up with the couple for a period of time and intervene in case there are problems. Since their emergence, marriage offices developed in numbers and services; now there are offices for VIPs and upper classes only. Telephone hotlines also gained popularity, where men and women seeking marriage call in and list their characteristics and are matched up with a compatible partner. "A marriage office should be credible in order to be successful, Hassan said. Hassan is planning to expand his office's services by organizing weekly parties where men and women can meet and interact. A material world Experts were critical of the profit-seeking nature of marriage offices. "Marriage offices are banking on the problem of delayed marriages in Egypt and gave it a commercial theme by selling applications, said Azza Korayem, a sociology expert at the National Center for Sociological and Criminological Research. "They offer marriage for people looking for certain criteria to achieve other personal material goals rather than have a family, she added. "Marriage isn't a business; when profit enters the marriage equation, it belittles marriage and turns it into a form of human trafficking, she explained. Inshad Ezz El-Din, professor of sociology at Helwan University, believes that the society is in a state of intense mobility and the easiest way to climb the social ladder is "effortless marriages offered by marriage offices. Because of the anxiety of never finding a husband/wife as well as the rising costs of marriages, Ezz El-Din explained, more and more women and men are opting for marriage offices. "However relying on financial criteria alone will take its toll on the couple's life together in the future, she said. Both experts warned that offices rarely double check the information provided by applicants who may create fake profiles. "Anyone seeking a real marriage won't apply there; we aren't in a closed society, one meets a lot of people at work, at the university, friends or relatives, Korayem said. Korayem said that these offices may serve as an easy method for dating between boys and girls and may later turn into brothels if they are not watched. She urged the government to keep a close eye on these offices and replace them with civil organizations that offer free services with the help of sociology and psychology experts.
