Arabnews
Depending on the societies they live in, when unmarried girls reach a certain age which differs from society to society, people begin to refer to them as “old maids” or “spinsters”. Especially in Arab countries, people still look upon a young unmarried girl as though she were to blame for her state. The girl soon becomes the butt of ridicule, accusations, and meddling by those around her and even those closest to her.
Dr. Bakr Bagader, an anthropology professor at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, said: “People differ in the age at which a woman is considered an ‘old maid’. We often see today that the marriageable age is linked to the stages in education because of the responsibilities of making a living and supporting a family. Completing education is thus seen as important and delays marriage for girls. Women no longer feel that their worth or status is dependent upon their husband.” >> continue
Interesting post Lorenz.Here is a BBC article about a blog which was turned into a book that discuses the marriage in Egypt…It is worth mentioning that in each Arab county, women have their own reasons beyond the “delay in marriage” comparing to before. In some countries like Egypt reasons differs from a certain social status and financial status to anther.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7554892.stm
Here is an academic work discusses the men side of the story in Egypt
http://www.econ.vt.edu/seminars/seminarpapers/2009/BinzeAssaadl2009_marriage.pdf