University degrees and ambition delay marriage for Bahraini women

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Bahraini women with university degrees are waiting longer to marry or avoiding it altogether, as education, ambition and tradition pull in different directions.

Those spending years in medical school or pursuing higher studies often find themselves left in the waiting room.

Not for a job, but for a husband. Family adviser Saeed Habeeb says many of them are stuck.

“They miss the train,” he said. “Some are still holding out for Prince Charming, but the world moves on.”

Habeeb, who works on social and educational cases, said many women turn down proposals that don’t match their expectations. The problem is not only academic. It is practical too.

“A woman with a doctorate wants someone at the same level. If she doesn’t find him, her job fills the gap and marriage is put aside.”

It is not just happening behind closed doors. Society itself is shifting. Expectations have changed. Old rules no longer fit the modern shape of things.

The cost of living is climbing, housing is hard to secure, and jobs don’t always pay enough to stand on.

Cost of family

Many young men are paid less than BD400 a month. The idea of taking on the cost of a family is too much for some.

“If a man cannot afford to rent a flat, how can he marry?” Habeeb asked.

In the meantime, some women are losing interest.

Among academic women in particular, marriage is no longer seen as the obvious next step. Instead, their careers take the front seat.

Social media has played a part in this turn. Marriage, once viewed as the gateway to stability, is now painted by some as a cage.

“Some girls have started to believe that marriage takes away their freedom,” said Habeeb. “That way of thinking came in from television and the internet. It wasn’t part of our culture before.”

These ideas, he said, don’t arrive all at once. They sink in slowly. People absorb them without noticing.

Divorce has become more common, but not always easier.

A divorced woman without children may find it easier to remarry than a divorced man.

Harsh experience

But if she has children or has been through a harsh experience, the matter becomes harder.

“Women are more emotional than men,” he said. “If she has lived through a rough marriage, she needs time to recover. Sometimes, years. And without help from her family or a counsellor, that healing can take even longer.”