Authorities of the Egyptian city of Luxor recently embarked on a new campaign in an attempt to stop a phenomenon that has been plaguing the city in recent years. The new effort in the well-known tourist city started after it was discovered that some 40 percent of Luxor youth were married to Western women - most of whom were in their late 40s and 50s.

According to Al Sharq Al Awsat newspaper, leaders fear that the social make-up of Luxor will be drastically changed to the detriment of the city if the new trend doesn’t cease in the near future.

Dr. Samir Faraj, who heads the Luxor municipality, explains that the main reason behind such marriages is financial motivation, rather than an expression of love. In his words, young Egyptians believe that marrying a Western woman will cure their financial troubles.

Faraj maintains that the key to changing the situation lies in the creation of new and viable employment positions for such youth, who will then be free to marry the women of their choice, and not be constrained to choose a wife on the basis of her financial background.

He also adds that the families of such men would also prefer that their children marry locally. However, in light of the difficult economic conditions throughout Egypt and Luxor, they understand that marrying a Western woman - even if she may be as much as twice as old as their sons - is an opportunity worth taking.

Luxor is one of several Upper Egyptian governorates, including Fayoum, Beni Suef, El Menia, Assiut, Sohag, Quena, and Aswan, whose populations struggle with extreme poverty.  Luxor, however, attracts countless tourists annually from across the world to its breathtaking ancient ruins. In fact, Egypt and its magnificent archeological treasures drew an estimated nine million tourists in 2006, many of whom passed through Luxor. However, with an economy based solely on a sometimes shaky tourism industry easily influenced by regional political developments, much of the town’s residents fail to reap the benefits of a potentially lucrative source of income.

Such economics have meshed with tradition to maintain what until recently was a strict code of conduct in terms of marriage and intermarriage. This is especially true in Upper Egypt, as opposed to urban centers, such as Cairo, where there is far more exposure to non-Egyptian cultural norms.

Young people in Upper Egypt rarely date or spend time alone with one another prior to marriage. Instead, couples are generally paired up by matchmakers at early ages, with some girls being engaged by the age of nine or ten (though marriage under the age of 15 is prohibited). Such matchmakers, along with parents, often choose a wife for a young male from his own family, where the woman’s reputation, social and financial standing is clear.  Cousins often marry, on the condition that the cousin is from the father's side, guaranteeing the continuation of the family name.

The new phenomenon of intermarriage with unknown, older foreign women is therefore extremely threatening to the traditional fabric of the community; the preservation of lineage as well as local tradition for both men and women are maintained through local marriage custom. Additionally, as a growing number of young men marry foreign women, local women in Luxor are left with little or no options for entering a marriage and establishing a family.

Time will tell whether the new trend will prove to be a temporary phenomenon, or a drastic new step away from tradition which may change Luxor society forever, for better or for worse. 

© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)