Marriage a Tough Proposition for Blue-Collar Saudis

RIYADH, 19 January 2006 — The Saudi technician is on the horns of a serious dilemma. Even if he lands a job, he still cannot land a wife.

And therein lies the tale of a society with its own norms and scale of human values and customs.

With the Saudization program going in full swing, young Saudis are honing their skills as mechanics, electricians, tailors and technicians in different fields. Yet, when it comes to marriage, they discover that Saudi girls do not prefer them as grooms.

The government launched its Saudization program with all good intentions: To rehabilitate unemployed Saudis in technical jobs that are currently held by expatriates. Preparations are now in full swing for opening 50 technical colleges and some 100 polytechnics all over the Kingdom at a cost of SR6 billion.

While these graduates enter the employment market and may find a job in their chosen field, they are fighting a losing battle on the marriage front.

“If I get married to a mechanic or a technician, my family and Saudi society in general will not accept me, because they look down upon such jobs,” said 18-year-old Saudi high school student Atheer Al-Zahrani.

Mona Al-Harithy, a student of King Saud University, echoed a similar view.

“I would have an inferiority complex if I married a Saudi technician. I don’t have any qualms about such a marriage, but social values and status symbols are something else,” she said.

Naif Al-Ghamdi, student of a technical college in Riyadh, said that he opted for technical education, since he was finding it difficult to cope with university education.

“I also read in the newspapers about government incentives to students of polytechnics. In fact, I am getting SR675 per month as a stipend. The Saudi Credit Bank is also offering interest-free loans to help us set up workshops or maintenance facilities,” said Naif. “But the scale of social values in our society are different when it comes to marriage.”

Against this background, Saudi students are questioning the validity of pursuing technical education if it helps them find jobs but leaves gaps between their expectations and the reality in terms of married life.

Parents point out that the stigma attached to technical jobs can be erased if imams stress the importance of technical education during their Friday sermons. However, the thrust of their discourse is mainly on the importance of prayers and purely religious topics rather than on social issues concerning the youth.

They say that the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself and the teachings of the Qur’an emphasize the need for earning one’s livelihood in a lawful way. There is no status symbol in Islam except in terms of piety. Instead of taking up this theme in their Friday sermons, the imams are harping on known topics not related to bread-and-butter issues.

Muhammad Al-Otaibi, a Saudi parent, said a reorientation in the sermons could go a long way in changing the people’s attitude to technical and some low-paying jobs held primarily by expatriates. According to the published data, the level of unemployment among Saudis stands at 31.7 percent.

An official survey conducted last month disclosed that the inability of Saudis to find jobs in the government sector is due to the fact that there are limited job opportunities which are mainly confined to those in the education, health care and security sectors. However, there is a huge potential in the private sector, especially in technical and secretarial jobs.

Their weakness in the English language, together with their preference to religious education against science education in secondary schools, has created a vacuum in the job market that expatriates have filled.

As Saud Al-Mutairy, a Saudi teacher, told Arab News: “Saudi youths should not think that if they start off as a secretary, they will retire as a secretary. The sky is the limit for hard working and productive Saudis. From a clerical position he can rise to an executive position, while a technician can be promoted as a technical supervisor and later as a technical manager if he sticks around and remains patient.”

Javid Hassan & Ali Al-Zahrani, Arab News