Marry my daughters in exchange for date, coffee: Emirati father

Curated by Nilanjana Gupta/Al Ain

Filed on May 9, 2016

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This father of six daughters in Al Ain is all for dowry, but only a date and Arabic coffee (qahwah).

While we hear instances of dowry abuse where fathers are 'gifting' the groom gold equivalent to the weight of his daughter, here in Al Ain, an Emirati father is bucking the trend. 

Social media is abuzz with reports that the father of six daughters in Al Ain has asked the grooms only for a date and a cup of Arabic coffee as mahhar or dowry.

The father reportedly believes that sometimes the wedding costs in the UAE are so unbearably high that many Emirati men fail to tie the nuptial knot or end up landing in massive debt. Sometimes the costs force them to marry non-local women.

Khaleej Times reported earlier that marriages between Emiratis and foreigners - particularly Emirati men marrying non-Emirati women - has been an increasing trend since 2012. This could lead to an increasing number of unmarried Emirati women.

Mixed marriages in numbers in UAE Dubai 57% Ajman 39.8% Abu Dhabi 28.8%

Read: The marriage puzzle

"Such growing numbers in mixed marriages could eventually affect UAE's population ratio", said Hamad Al Rahoomi, an FNC member from Dubai.

Khaleej Times had earlier reported that the UAE Marriage Fund, which provides financial assistance to those who want to marry, said that most of the respondents blamed large dowry rates for low marriage rates among Emirati women.

The Federal National Council has debated the issue for weeks to find a way out to what they believe could be a serious demographic problem.