A recent study indicated that the phenomenon of young Egyptian males marrying elderly foreign women is growing in Egypt. The study was prepared by the Prevention of Human Trafficking Unit at the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood.
According to the study, there is no specific data on the number of young men marrying foreign women since most of these marriages are not registered in Cairo. Such marriages are typically recorded in lawyer’s offices, except in cases where the wife applies to her embassy for a visitor’s visa or permanent residency for her husband.
The study went on to describe these marriages as a form of human trafficking, as the young men give up their religion, social life, customs and traditions for money or residency in a foreign country. The study added that the young men become love slaves for older women in exchange for money and gifts.
The study indicated that the main motive behind the marriages is young man’s aspirations for quick wealth. Other motives include the desire to emigrate and financial obstacles presented by marrying an Egyptian woman. The study indicated that a very small percentage of young men marry foreign women because they admire them, find Egyptian girls to be comparatively superficial, or because foreign women tend to make fewer marital demands.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
