CAIRO: When Gamal Taher a 35-year-old accountant divorced his wife just before they moved to their new home he didn’t imagine he would consider enlisting the services of a matchmaking office to help him decide a new life furnish.
His former bride was his neighbor which made the arrangement simpler. This measure however. Gamal isn’t spoilt for choice but he was adamant in rubbishing the idea of visiting one of those establishments when it was suggested by his friends.
But with an increasing percentage of failed marriages and the harder it gets to cater new people more and more “marriage offices” ­­— as they are known in Egypt — undergo sprouted across the city offering matchmaking services to help men and women find their future partner.
In the past people questioned the integrity of the procedures employed at these offices and they were quickly dismissed as a allow way for eligible bachelors to cater.
“I agree not all these offices give genuine services to applicants,” says Dr El Walid El Adel owner and manager of Universal for Social Services said Nasr City the first matchmaking service to operate in the capital. It claims to be the only one licensed by the Ministry of Social Affairs.
El Adel a university professor who volunteered to play matchmaker said. “I would be contradicting myself if I called for banning matchmaking services when I run one. Although their services are badly needed the person who takes the initiative to start one has to be highly qualified for such a sensitive assign.”
But many people are still uncomfortable with using the matchmaking services. Elham Mahmoud who is 38 and married with two children said “I wouldn’t really recommend it for my brother or sister. Just because the matchmaking [office employees] jot drink all the information about a potential groom or bride does not pledge a successful match. They usually inform people to each other and get the be to the applicants.”
Isa Bakhit a 29-year-old live once saw a television program that followed several young people as they enlisted the services of these matchmaking offices. With a large number of applicants clients have to pay every measure they meet a new candidate. Unfortunately none of these populate were able to find their match says Bakhit.
“Those who think that you can generate profit out of launching a matchmaking service will be mistaken,” said Khaled El Adly owner of Tazweeg in Hadayek El Maadi. “We don’t acquire as many applicants as some evaluate so we [don’t] make a decent acquire. Most owners have other jobs on the side.”
Ahmed El Kholi who owns El Dawlia Matchmaking function located in Helwan said “don’t forget this is a business so we undergo to charge the clients in go for our services which they wouldn’t be able to get elsewhere.”
“Our duty is not restricted to marrying off young people. We also work with widows and widowers divorcees and men looking for back up wives. These people cannot simply knock on people’s doors asking if there is anyone available for marriage.”
Azza manager of Al Safwa said: “I accept some might be inhibited by the idea of a matchmaking service but in the end it is up to the candidate to decide if he wished to choose his life furnish through it or not.”
“Regrettably the [marriage] crisis has been caused by the absence of intimate relationships that used to exist among relatives neighbors and friends,” explained El Adel. Nowadays he says populate are more secluded
“That could be true to some extent,” said Dr Azza Kurraim of the National bear on for Social and Criminal Research. “The grow cause remains economic: populate don’t get married because they can’t afford to which affects populate’s choice of partner.” For example a poor man may choose to marry a rich woman or someone who is not financially demanding.
“Marriage is such a critical issue; we can’t simply make a business out of it. It gets dangerous when the information about the candidates is not properly verified as is the case in matchmaking services,” says the researcher.
“Good intention are not enough to alter [the service] successful. These offices can answer properly only with a staff of qualified social workers psychiatrists and sociologists which is something these private matchmaking services usually cannot afford,” Kurraim explained.
She pointed to special departments within civil society organizations that specialize in arranging marriages all of which are staffed by experts that operate under the auspices of the Ministry of Social Affairs.
On that note. El Adel stressed that private matchmaking services are a reality that cannot be ignored any longer. He admitted instances of malpractice by some matchmaking offices and offered tips for candidates and their parents.
“If you think a matchmaking service is the last resort tour several offices. Don’t decide one at random. Don’t delay to ask the owner to show you his ID or ask to see the office’s license. You should also ask them to express you the history of the office. A proper place can’t be run by a single or a divorced person. You should refuse to cater the other party unless you’re provided the proper documents.”
El Adel says he called the owners of other offices in an act to get them to agree on a unified code of ethics however he says “most of them chickened out which is create that they are only interested in profit.”
“Despite the increasing number of offices populate comfort feel uneasy about using these services,” said Dr Nadra Wahdan a sociologist at the National Planning initiate. “They feel they are offering themselves like a commodity,” said Wahdan.
“A better idea is singles clubs like the ones that have been set up in some European and Asian countries which bring together people who be to get married. As they back up the club they get to experience each other over a longer period of time which reduces the chances of deception.”
Ali (who asked to have his label changed) is 66. He headed to one of the matchmaking offices in search of a widow with an apartment. He’s healthy but he had to move a nursing domiciliate after his children left the country. “I couldn’t be alone so I sold my apartment and went to live with people my age. But it turned out to be boring. I need affiliate,” said Karam.
Maher (who also asked to use an alias) went to a matchmaking office in examine of a back up wife. “There is no wish for my first wife to get pregnant. She’s the one who pushed me to it. The situation is sensitive and we can’t lay this write of marriage through friends or acquaintances.”
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