The 2012 edition of the CIA's World Factbook suggests that Qatar has the most gender-skewed population on the planet: 4.15 males, between the ages 15 to 64, for every single woman in the same age range. This ratio surpasses all the other 199 nations for which data exist.
The next closest to Qatar, in terms of the skewed gender ratio, is the UAE, with 2.75 males for each female. These gender imbalances are generally explained with reference to the large number of male expatriates in the workforce, typically employed in male-dominated sectors such as construction.
Ironically, despite the preponderance of males in these societies, spinsterhood, or anousa as it's known in Arabic, is increasingly viewed as a major social concern across the GCC states. Jamal Obaid Al Bah, the chairman of the Arab Family Organisation, suggests that around 30,000 Emirati women can be categorised as "spinsters". Another report in the Arabic language daily Emirat Al Youm offers a more alarming figure: there are around 175,000 Emirati spinsters.
Press reports from Qatar tell a similar tale, with one report claiming a quarter of Qatari women will remain unmarried. An estimate from Saudi Arabia proposes that up to 1.5 million Saudi women will remain unmarried.
A problem with these reports is that they don't give specific details about exactly how the data were collected, or how exactly spinsterhood is being defined. It is probable that a rising marriage-age accounts for a portion of what is, perhaps prematurely, being declared as spinsterhood. But there are some clear indicators that spinsterhood is increasingly an issue.
One of the suspected reasons has been the trend among GCC men to marry foreign wives, known in anthropological terms as "male exogamy". Mohammed Al Murr, the Speaker of the FNC and the vice president of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, relates that during the 1970s, Emirati men marrying foreign women went from the tens to the hundreds. By the 1980s, it was in the thousands.
Citing figures from the first half of 2010, the Dubai Statistics Centre estimates that over 30 per cent of marriages involved Emirati men and foreign wives.
However, the figures are silent on how many of the marriages were polygamous. How many of these foreign wives are marrying Emirati men who are already married to Emirati women?
There is little debate that the rate of male exogamy is substantially higher than the rate for females. If polygamy rates remain constant, with men increasingly marrying non-GCC citizens, while women do not, then logically this equates to an increase in spinsterhood.
The idea of women "marrying out", or even "marrying down" (to someone of lower social standing), is generally frowned upon across the GCC. The royal family of Kuwait proudly asserts that no "Al Sabah female has married out for at least two centuries", although men routinely marry out.
Some anthropologists have characterised this as a form of status assertion, crudely formulated as "we can marry your women, but you can't marry ours". Gulf women do, of course, occasionally marry foreigners, but in some GCC states this can be stigmatised. These relationships are often further complicated by laws prohibiting women from passing citizenship to their children. In the UAE, the government has only recently announced that Emirati women will be able to pass on their citizenship.
Why are GCC men increasingly marrying out? The most common reason offered tends to be financial. The mahr ("bride gift") and associated wedding costs are often judged to be prohibitively high. Recently, a group of young Saudi men, frustrated at their financial inability to marry Saudi women, started an internet campaign with a rather uncharitable slogan: "Let her become a spinster."
Much has been done to try to address this situation, from group weddings to marriage funds. However, new research into the related issues of polygamy, male exogamy and spinsterhood is also required.
For me, the financial explanation rings slightly hollow. What foreign wife of an Emirati man wants to believe her husband married her because he was cash-strapped? And what husband gazes tenderly into his wife's eyes and thinks - "bargain".
Justin Thomas is professor of psychology in the department of health science at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi
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How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Financial considerations before buying a property
Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.
“If it’s a rental property, plan for the property to have periods when it does not have a tenant. Ensure you have enough cash set aside to pay the mortgage and other costs during these periods, ideally at least six months,” she says.
Also, shop around for the best mortgage interest rate. Understand the terms and conditions, especially what happens after any introductory periods, Ms Glynn adds.
Using a good mortgage broker is worth the investment to obtain the best rate available for a buyer’s needs and circumstances. A good mortgage broker will help the buyer understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage and make the purchasing process efficient and easier.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The biog
Siblings: five brothers and one sister
Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym
Favourite place: UAE
Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera
What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
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The UAE's journey to space
Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
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HOW TO WATCH
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The years Ramadan fell in May
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The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Full list of brands available for Instagram Checkout
Adidas @adidaswomen
Anastasia Beverly Hills @anastasiabeverlyhills
Balmain @balmain
Burberry @burberry
ColourPop @colourpopcosmetics
Dior @dior
H&M @hm
Huda Beauty @hudabeautyshop
KKW @kkwbeauty
Kylie Cosmetics @kyliecosmetics
MAC Cosmetics @maccosmetics
Michael Kors @michaelkors
NARS @narsissist
Nike @niketraining & @nikewomen
NYX Cosmetics @nyxcosmetics
Oscar de la Renta @oscardelarenta
Ouai Hair @theouai
Outdoor Voices @outdoorvoices
Prada @prada
Revolve @revolve
Uniqlo @uniqlo
Warby Parker @warbyparker
Zara @zara
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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