Facebook lures unmarried Egyptians

CAIRO, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Looking extremely busy, Emad, also known as Cubbo, was browsing the Facebook in a bid to garner support for his new idea.

Gawezny Shokran (or "get me married, thanks") is a new Facebook group created by the 22-year-old fresh graduate to help unmarried Egyptians afford the costs of marriage.

The most recent study by Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), shows that 13.3 million Egyptians who reached the legal age of marriage are still on the shelf.

Experts attribute the increase of singleton rates in the most populated Arab nation to the high cost of marriage in the light of low standard of living and high unemployment rate.

In Egypt, marriage costs a man or a girl around 50,000 to 100, 000 Egyptian pounds (about 9,140 to 18,281 U.S dollars) on average. The sum only covers renting an apartment and furnishings. It costs more if the new couple choose to buy a new apartment.

Renting a flat in Cairo costs at least 350 pounds a month. The rent goes beyond expectations of low-income brackets when it comes to luxurious districts, where it might be 3,000 pounds or higher.

The old-fashioned marriage traditions which still influence Egyptians are considered by the majority of young people as an added burden to marriage seekers.

The bridegroom has to provide accommodation, pay dowry and offer his bride an expensive "shabka," a collection of gold jewelry that costs at least 10,000 pounds. The man has also to pay for the wedding party and provide a big part of the home furniture.

Many people, who suffer from extremely low income and high unemployment rates, can not afford such costly marriage requirements.

According to official figures, around 40 percent of Egyptians live on less than 2 dollars per day. Egypt also suffers high inflation rates that hit 13.6 percent in January, according to CAPMAS.

Unemployment rate hit 9.4 percent in the last quarter of 2009.

"I can't afford an apartment for marriage," said Ahmed Sonbul, a 27-year-old journalist.

Cubbo believes he can raise funds for marriage seekers through his newly-created Facebook group, which collect donations and subscription fees from the group members.