Getting married in the UAE can be very expensive. To help solve this problem, the Marriage Fund organization was set up by the UAE government to help Emiratis get married and to try to reduce the number of marriages to non-nationals. This essay will describe cause why it was set up and effect how effective it has been.

There are two main reasons why the government decided to spend money on weddings in the UAE. cause The first reason is expense. A typical wedding can cost hundreds of thousands of dirhams for receptions, jewellery, wardrobe, and money paid to the bride's family. effect As a result, many young couples are in debt, or have huge bank loans, and this in turn effect can lead to stress and strain in the marriage. At one time, almost 80% of loans in the UAE were for marriage expenses.

More worrying for the government than the expense was the fact that cause Emirati men were marrying non-nationals. This was because of cause lower costs, but it effect lead to cultural problems within the marriage. Many Emiratis felt such marriages cause weakened their society.

effect The Marriage Fund has been quite effective. effect Over 44,000 weddings have taken place since 1992. effect The percentage of marriage to non-nationals dropped from 64% to 26%, which has also effect decreased the number of unmarried Emirati women. effect More importantly, marriages have started more securely, without the pressure of huge borrowings.

Overall, although weddings are still expensive affairs in the UAE, the Marriage Fund has been very successful in reducing costs and in strengthening traditional family bonds.