MARRIAGE FUND

The Women’s Federation is currently co-operating with the Marriage Fund’s efforts to foster social stability in the UAE. In the past this has been threatened by the high rate of marriage between UAE nationals and foreign women, leaving many young UAE women unmarried and a significant number of UAE children being brought up by mothers without any cultural or religious affinity with the UAE. The high cost of marriage in the UAE, including lavish wedding receptions and expensive dowries, was a major contributing factor to this phenomenon.
Recognising that a remedy was required, Sheikh Zayed decreed the creation of a special Marriage Fund, financed by the Government, which offers substantial long-term loans (up to Dh 70,000) to young UAE men wishing to marry UAE women, in order to defray the costs of getting started in life. Nationals over 30 years of age are entitled to an additional Dh 20,000 if they marry
At the same time Sheikh Zayed has waged a vocal and successful campaign against the practice of high dowries and extravagant weddings. Upper limits of Dh 50,000 have been set for dowries and the prohibition on lavish weddings can now be enforced by legal sanctions: a prison sentence or a Dh 500,000 fine for the couples concerned. Special wedding halls have been built where celebrations can be held without the expenses that would be incurred in other venues. Group weddings are also becoming a popular way of avoiding these excesses: one of the UAE's largest mass weddings took place at Dubai's Al Safa Park in March 2000 when 376 couples tied the knot in a joint celebration.
The role of the Marriage Fund, which was allocated Dh 250 million in the federal budget for the year 2000, up from Dh 237 million in 1999, has expanded in recent years. It now carries out research and field surveys on a variety of social issues, organises conferences, provides marriage guidance, launches awareness campaigns, and even arranges introductions. As a result, its name is being amended to the Marriage and Family Care Establishment. The fund is also appointing two women to its board of directors