The singles club

There has been a major discussion over the years on the reasons that have driven the youth of today to either getting married at a late age or staying single in pursuit of their career-like ambitions.

And unfortunately, although it may seem to be a sign of progress that Omani men (as do the women of this society) think of other things to be their ultimate goal in life besides getting settled down and having a family; it is also viewed as an alarming trend that the community is trying to curb. As according to a recent census that was achieved back in 2003, there are now 3 Omani women to every 1 Omani man in the country.

Many thought the reason behind such as this debatablely-large ratio is that they (men) look to marry from outside the country which current laws forbid unless given an approval certificate under stringent rules and regulations. Others sought the reasons to be that there could be a rise in same-sex relationships between the two sexes (although this can never be confirmed as it is prohibited both by law and Islam). Then comes the final reason that ever could rise; that neither gender is really interested into getting involved with the other. This is due because of the many experiences of the youth of today that attempt to court the other gender in various ways and also due to abnormal societal norms.

Many of the youth today prefer to know each other before they get into a maritial relationship whether it is an informal or formal one. Having said that, the bad experiences they take on possibly gives the impression that such a task is almost impossible in achievement. And thus, they shelf the idea from ever happening.

Abnormal societal norms include heavy expenses for wedding treats such as the wedding night, the honey moon, and the mahr (which is the amount of money that the man pays or offers to the woman in order to court her formally), which, in many wilayats in Oman, could reach a sum of 40,000 Omani Rials (roughly $25,000).

And since most of the population (75%, actually), is under the age of 30 years old and mostly 'looking for a job' they pretty much have to take whatever job offer they can get their hands on. Even it means that you have studied for a bachelor's degree (with honors) for 4 whole years and all you end up is with a job that pays you barely 300 Omani Rials a month (minus 6% for social services) that makes you work 6 days of the week at a 10-hour rate every day with only half an hour lunch break.

And the government is thinking in the right way in implementing Omanization in the private sector but what about the salaries? When someone with only a high school certificate with so many children and a wife lives off a 120 Omani Rials salary?

The solution may be in employing more Omanis in the private sector but to make them grovel for their slight pay that scarecly helps them survive over the first week isn't helping at all. Even with all the free education, free health services that the government provides.

The current population of the Sultanate of Oman is now standing at 3 million people, where half of million of which, are expatriates. In 10 years time, this number will probably double or tripple. The current accurate number of people looking for a job is unknown, but that does not mean that we have a big time ahead of us in order to arrange the suspension to cushion that coming calamity.

There is a diyer need to do something very urgently about this. Everyone - the government, the private sector, and the individuals involved - are all demanded by their moral, and social obligations towards this society lest we all fall into recession.

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This is my 500th post!