Sociologists as well as psychiatrists argue that unless the problem of failed marriages in this region is diagnosed through extensive studies, solutions cannot be found.
One should look at the way a child is brought up if the problem of broken marriages is to be fixed over the long term, says an expert.
The finances of the husband are indeed important in making his marriage last, but financial resourcefulness alone is no guarantee that his marriage would succeed. “So what we need is to look at other aspects of married life as well — social and psychological,” said well-known psychiatrist Dr Tahir Shaltout.
According to prominent psychologist Dr Moza Al Malki, a major problem in Qatar is that most marriage and family counsellors are non-Qatari and not well-versed with the local culture. Qatari experts are invited to give lectures on how to live a happy married life or to provide family counselling on a voluntary basis. “They aren’t paid,” she noted.
A major problem in Qatar is that wedding costs are exorbitant and the onus of spending is almost entirely on the groom or his family. As a result, a large number of Qatari men remain single until a very late age as they must earn and save for years to spend on their marriage.
This results in a large number of Qatari women remaining unmarried, too, and once they are past the marriageable age, they never marry.
Charitable bodies and philanthropists have, from time to time, launched initiatives to help Qatari men who are unable to get married because they lack the necessary finances, but such initiatives have never succeeded.
The concept of group marriages has failed because Qataris are too proud to be part of such charitable initiatives, especially as the beneficiaries, say community elders.
A charitable organisation recently launched an initiative to provide support in the form of tents to couples getting married, because one of the major heads of a weeding cost is the venue.
According to Qatari columnist Faisal Al Marzooki, the charitable body has laid down so many conditions for one to be eligible to benefit from its initiative that one would feel humiliated and would never approach it for help.
“They are asking for bank statements and proof of assets from prospective grooms to be eligible to benefit from its scheme. A Qatari youth is so proud he would hardly approach the charitable body for help,” he said in a recent column in a local Arabic daily.
Experts say such help should be provided in a way that the prospective beneficiary does not feel insulted.
