Eng 102 Report

Fall 2010

The Lack of Affordable

Housing for Newly-Wed
Middle-Class Egyptians

Prepared for:-
Dr. Aya El-Bably

Prepared by:-
Omar El-Shamy

Completed on :-
01/01/2010

Table of Contents
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Executive Summary -------------------- 1

Part 1 –
- Introduction-------------------------2-3

- Questionnaire Results -------------3-6

Part 2 –

Causes

- The Cost of Marriage----------------7

- Housing Policy-----------------------8-9

Effects

- Urfi Marriage-----------------------9-10

- Wait hood----------------------------10-11

Conclusion----------------------------------11-12

- References ---------------------------13

Appendix

- Table of Data Analysis ------------14

- Questionnaire-------------------------15-16

- Outline ---------------------------------17
Executive Summary

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Why is there a lack of affordable housing for middle class Egyptian

newly weds, and what are the effects this has on Egyptian society?
In this report I go over housing policy in Egypt over the last few
decades and the reforms it has taken. The cost of marriage in Egypt
shall also be explored and compared to other countries in the
middle east.

In addition to this I will discuss the concepts of prolonged

adolescence and wait-hood and discuss Urfi Marriage which many
see as a by-product of the inability to get married due to the
extortionate costs. I will also suggest solutions to the problem in the
conclusion, these include policy reform as well as adapting to a new
way of thinking for the modern world.

Part I
Introduction
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Traditionally in the Arab world parents are financially responsible for

their children until their children are able to get married, in the past

this was usually by the age of 19. As a result of this an Arab youth is

never fully considered an adult until he is married since he still lives

with his parents and

for all intents and purposes is still heavily dependant on them. If the

youth is not able to wed he is faced with a certain level of social

isolation and disrespect. (Rashad, 2005)

In the past this was not a problem as most youths were able to find

a spouse and afford to get married at a young age abiding by his or

her cultural standards, however with the constantly rising costs of

living and the drops in employment rates, it has become

increasingly more difficult to meet these expectations. One of the

major costs of a marriage is that of housing, especially in the case of

the middle class of Egypt. This in my opinion is the main obstacle in

the way of marriage of young Egyptians.

As I mentioned earlier the nature of the culture calls for the parents

to support their children till they are wed, and so they remain living

at home with their immediate family and almost completely

financially dependant on their parents. This allows for men well into

their 20’s and in many cases their 30’s and above to remain in a

state of prolonged adolescence, meaning they don’t have the

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chance to mature as human beings and are not able to contribute in

a positive way to their society.

Unable to grow up they remain in a state of arrested development

and face the full brunt of the social stigma that comes with it, being

seen as failures by their elders. Culturally it is frowned upon to rent

an apartment, and parents are highly selective about whom they

will allow their children to marry even in the middle class. In fact it

could be argued that this is the case especially in the upper to

middle class, as parents are reluctant to marry off their children to

people that they don’t see as equals, or superior, both economically

and in terms of the perceived prestige of society.

This can have potentially disastrous affects on the society, as

young people do not take jobs perceived as more lowly culturally

since they feel that when they come to wed this would work against

them. Instead they opt to remain unemployed and wait for the

opportunity for a more prestigious position to arise. This is

counterproductive as they are not saving any money during this

period which could later help them out when trying to find housing.

Since marriage is such a huge investment for a family they are

always reluctant not to marry their daughters to someone without a

prestigious job and ownership of their own property, renting is seen

as flimsy, they want to guarantee the financial security and comfort

of their children.

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Questionnaire Results

The questionnaire was an interesting way to take a peak at the

opinions of the youth in order to compare them to the findings of my
research. I tried to keep the sample representative and balanced for
example I made sure that of the 20 given the questionnaire 10 were
male and 10 were female. Unfortunately because of the small size of
the sample group, it is clear that the results are not entirely
representative, for example, from the sample group of 20 middle
class Egyptian youths all of them were single, yet they all claimed to
know at least a couple of their friends who were engaged.

Q1)Most middle class Egyptians get married when they are

a)18-21
b)22-25
c)26-29
d)30+

6
5
4
3
2 Male
Female
1
0
18-21 22-25 26-29 30+
Male 1 6 3 0
Female 1 5 4 0

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This tells me that the majority of the sample group asked believe
that Egyptians marry
before the age of 30, both the males and the females had very
similar opinions with
the majority believing that they will marry between 22-25 with 26-
29 coming a close
second. There were no votes for 30+. These are actually close to
the real figures.

Q2)Most middle class Egyptians wed after graduating university

strongly disagree

disagree Female
Male
neutral

agree

strongly agree

0 2 4 6 8
It was almost unanimously agreed that they do wed very soon after
graduating university, again both men and women shared this
opinion. Only 2 people disagreed with no one strongly disagreeing.

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Q3)Most of the financial strain of housing is placed on the…

Shared

The Bride's Family

Female
The Bride
Male
The Groom's Family

The Groom

0 2 4 6
Here we see that the majority feel that the cost is shared, with no
votes going towards the brides family. This rings true as the cost is
generally shared but most of it is paid by the groom and his family.

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Q5) Young couples are willing to sacrifice luxuries in order to afford

housing….

Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Female
Neutral
Male

Agree

Strongly
Agree

0 2 4 6 8

While about the same number of men and women believe are
neutral about this, it is clear that significant number believe this to
be true, it is also interesting to being up that more men than women
seem to think so, this might show that men are more willing to
sacrifice luxuries than men

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Part II

Causes:-

The Cost of Marriage in Egypt

1) Housing

2) Furniture and household appliances

3) Shabka – golden jewelry given to the bride

4) Mahr – Dower

5) Celebrations

6) Trouseau – Gihaz or Kiswa (including clothing, kitchen-ware

etc..)

14 percent of the cost of marriage goes towards the Trouseau, 6

percent towards the celebration, 5 percent to the Mahr, 9 percent to

the jewelry, with lions share of the cost being the housing at 32

percent and the furniture at 34 percent. (Singerman, 1997)

These statistics are very telling in that they reveal that housing

takes up a whole third of the cost of a marriage, one could even

argue two thirds if you were to include the cost of the furniture. This

is a substantially high statistic showing that the main hurdle for a

young couple to cross in Egypt is that of financing their housing.

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Housing Policy In Egypt

In the 1960’s new housing reforms were enforced, these were

designed to protect tenants of

1)Agricultural land

2)Commercial property

3)Rental Housing

These reforms gave the tenants indefinite contracts to the

properties they are renting at fixed nominal price. Over time these

prices became miniscule compared to the current market. This gave

people the ability to essentially own apartments and now are paying

next to nothing in rent. As a result the supply for rental housing

dissipated swiftly causing a huge shortage. (Assaad, 2008)

In order to rent new apartments tenants were now expected to pay

huge sums of advance rent upfront, essentially buying the property

with very vague terms in the contract regarding the rights of the

tenant and the landlord.

These new rent control laws devastated the market for those

looking to purchase property as well. As a result of these new laws

landlords were reluctant to rent out their properties in addition to

this they also did not want to sell their properties. Shrewdly holding

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on to their units while waiting from prices to go up, and/or keeping

the property for when their children wished to get married.

Shockingly 9.9% of all dwellings, that’s 904,000 units, were vacant

according to the 1996 Egyptian census. (Assaad, 2008)

After 1981 there was yet another reform in rental law in Egypt. It

began with allowing for landlords to increase rent one time, and

shifted the laws regarding agricultural land to be a bit more liberal.

Finally in 1996 with the Law No. 4 being enforced landlords of rental

housing were allowed to give definite durations to their contracts,

they were even given the right to renegotiate rental prices at the

ends of these contracts. Unfortunately this law only applied to

contracts made after the law was established.

Effects:-

1. Urfi Marriage
Urfi marriage are marriages which are not registered with the

government, these marriages are kept secret from the community

and the family by the couples involved. These marriages are

becoming more and more popular among young people as it

reduces the cost of marriage since the couple do not live together.

They instead meet on a regular basis in hotel rooms, or furnished

flats.

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Since these unions occur in secret the family plays no financial role

in the marriage however they also play no role in the selection of

the spouse which can strongly appeal to many couples. In addition

to this as the couple do not cohabitate they also do not suffer the

huge financial burden of housing, not to mention the other costs of

marriage in Egypt discussed in this paper.

How common are Urfi Marriages?

It is a popular belief among Egyptians that there is a huge

occurrence of urfi marriage in Egypt, now more than ever because

of the perception that it is now more difficult than ever to afford a

real or official marriage. However considering the secrecy involved

in such a union it is difficult for sociologists, anthropologists and

government officials to gather data regarding this phenomena.

Statistics regarding the real number of urfi marriages in Egypt are

questionable at best and estimates run from 20,000 to 30,000 a

year. The Minister of Social Affairs claimed that the frequency of urfi

marriage among university students was a staggering 17 percent.

(Singerman ,1997)

Sahar El-Tawila and Zeinab Khadr conducted the most

comprehensive study on urfi marriage in Egypt to date, their results

estimate that of the total youth population (ages 18-30) that only 4

percent have attempted this form of union the incidence however

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increases to 6 percent among university students.

(Singerman,1997)

The study that El-Tawila and Khadr shows that the vast majority of

those who pursue a urfi marriage would much rather have a

conventional marriage but are faced with the huge financial

constraints of young people in Egypt or are marrying in secret since

their spouse would not have the approval of the family .

2. Wait-hood

As a result of the hopelessness felt by most young Egyptian males,

the go through a period referred to as wait-hood, (Rashad, 2005)

this is a period where a youth is not yet considered a man since he

is not only financially dependant on his parents, but also living with

them. Since he cannot get married instead of taking on any of the

plethora of jobs available to him he waits for the opportunity of a

prestigious job that the parents of a potential spouse would consider

appropriate for their child.

So unemployed and thus not saving any money, the youth ends up

being a leech on his family’s resources while not maturing in the

least bit.

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Conclusion
Its is clear that this is a serious problem, it is also clear that it

cannot be ignored. All the possible solutions involve sacrifices, since

there cannot a an all encompassing answer to this complex

problem. Both the government and society must make

compromises.

According to Navtej Dhillon, Director of the Middle East Youth

Initiative the median age of marriage has declined to 26 years in

comparison to that of the early 30’s, this is because of housing

policy reform in Egypt. I believe that more can be done however,

and we should follow the lead of countries such as Korea who in

their 2008 economic management plan, have provided around

120,000 low-cost housing units per year as of 2009, just for newly

wed couples (Hyo-sik, 2008)

The private sector can also show some incentive and forward

thinking to help solve this problem. Instead of companies investing

into elite posh housing, which ultimately do not end up being

bought, it would be wiser for them to invest into building smaller

low-cost housing units, which would attract a lot of interest from the

public.

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A lot of companies are building satellite cities around Cairo, so

their employees can live closer to the work place, while the

companies themselves enjoy the tax breaks they get from setting

up shop inside of Cairo. Although many younger Egyptians may find

it highly undesirable to live outside of inner city Cairo they must be

willing to make sacrifices to solve their dilemma.

As a final note I think it would be very useful for the younger

people to move out of their parents homes once they graduate, this

forces them to work and to take responsibility. Although many find it

acceptable to live with their parents/in laws in the early stages of

marriage I believe this does not help the problem of prolonged

adolescence that many Egyptian youths now face.

References
Assaad, R.A, & Ramadan, M.A. (2008). Did housing policy reforms
curb the delay in marriage among young men in egypt?. Middle East
Youth Initiative, 1. Retrieved from
http://www.shababinclusion.org/content/document/detail/1226/

Dhillon, N.D. (2009, December 15). Light at the end of the tunnel in
egypt's marriage crisis?. The Egyptian Gazette, Retrieved from
http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2008/1123_marriage_crisis_dhillo
n.aspx

Hyo-sik, L.H. (2008, October 3). 120,000 homes to be offered to

newly-weds. The Korea Times, Retrieved from
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2009/07/123_20438.htm
l

Rashad, H.R, Osman, M.O, & Roudi-Fahimi, F.R. (2005). Marriage in

the arab world. Population Reference Bureau, Retrieved from
http://www.prb.org

Singerman, D.S. (1997). The Economic imperatives of marriage.

Middle East Youth Initiative, 6. Retrieved from
http://www.shababinclusion.org/content/document/detail/559/

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Appendix

Table of Data Analysis

A ge G ender M a rit a l Q 1 Q 2 Q 3 Q 4 Q 5 Q 6 Q 7 Q 8 Q 9

1 18 M S c 2 e 5 2 d 4 4 -2 -1 -3 1

2 18 M S a 1 c 10 3 b 5 4 -1 -2 -3 1

3 18 F S a 2 b 6 3 d 3 1 -2 -4 -3 4

4 21 M S b 3 c 6 2 b 3 3 -2 -1 -4 6

5 19 M S c 4 b 7 3 c 4 2 -1 -3 -4 3

6 20 M S b 3 e 5 3 b 2 2 -3 -4 -1 4

7 20 M S b 2 b 1 2 a 2 3 -1 -4 -2 5

8 19 M S b 2 a 9 2 a 2 1 -3 -4 -2 5

9 19 F S b 2 a 9 2 a 2 1 -2 -4 -3 5

10 19 F S c 2 e 9 3 a 3 2 -3 -1 -4 2

11 19 F S c 1 e 2 3 a 3 2 -3 -1 -4 2

12 20 F S c 3 b 1 3 a 3 3 -2 -4 -1 5

13 19 M S c 2 e 1 2 a 3 4 -2 -1 -3 8

14 21 F S b 1 e 10 3 b 2 2 -4 -3 -1 10

15 23 M S b 2 b 8 2 d 2 3 -2 -4 -1 10

16 19 F S c 4 a 10 4 b 5 4 -2 -3 -1 8

17 20 F S b 2 b 8 1 c 3 3 -1 -2 -4 8

18 18 M S b 3 e 4 3 a 3 4 -2 -3 -1 10

19 18 F S b 2 e 10 3 a 3 4 -2 -1 -3 10

20 19 M S b 2 e 8 2 b 3 2 -4 -1 -3 10

to ta l 1 8 (5 ) M ( 1 0 ) F ( 1 0 )S ( 2 0 ) b (1 1 ) 2 (1 1 ) e (9 ) 1 0 (4 ) 3 (1 0 ) a (9 ) 3 (1 0 ) 1 0 (5 )

2 0 (4 ) c (7 ) 3 (4 ) b (6 ) 9 (3 ) 2 (8 ) b (6 ) 2 (6 ) 5 (4 )

1 9 (8 ) a (2 ) 1 (3 ) a (3 ) 8 (3 ) 4 (1 ) d (3 ) 5 (2 ) 8 (3 )

2 1 (2 ) 4 (2 ) c (2 ) 1 (3 ) 1 (1 ) c (2 ) 4 (2 ) 1 (2 )

2 3 (1 ) 6 (2 ) 2 (2 )

5 (2 ) 4 (2 )

4 (1 )

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Questionnaire
Dear Participant
My name is Omar El-Shamy, I'm doing research on affordable
housing for middle class newly-wed Egyptians, for my English 102
class. I would greatly appreciate afew minutes of your time to fill out
this questionare.
Thank you

Name:-
Age:-
Gender:-
Marital Status:-

1)most middle class Egyptians get married when they are

a) 18-21
b) 22-25
c) 26-29
d) 30+
2)most middle class Egyptians wed after graduating university

strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
Strongly disagree

3)most of the financial strain of housing is placed on the...

a)the groom
b)the grooms family
c)the bride
d)the brides family
e)shared

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4)on a scale of 1-10 one being most desirable and 10 being the
least, living outside of inner city Cairo is..
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

5)Young couples are willing to sacrifice luxuries in order to afford

housing

strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
Strongly disagree

6)how many of your colleagues in university are engaged?

a)1-2
b)3-4
c)5-6
d)more than 6

7)loans are a practical way to afford housing

strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
Strongly disagree

8)below is a list of possible solutions to housing for newly weds,

please put them in order, 1) being the most acceptable 4) being the
least

(….)taking out a loan

(….)renting a place
(….)living far outside of inner city Cairo
(….)postponing the wedding in order to save up some money

9)It is fairly common for young newly-wed Egyptians to live with

their parents until they can afford a place of their own, on a scale of
1-10, 1=acceptable 10=unacceptable this is….

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

10)The financial crisis has affected Egyptians chances of getting

married young

Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral

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Disagree
Strongly Disagree

11)What sorts of problems do you think Egypt will face, if young

couples can no longer afford to get married?

12)what do you think would help solve the housing problem for
young newly wed Egyptians?

Outline
Topic :- Lack of affordable housing for young newly-wed middle-
class couples.

-Inner city apartments have hugely inflated prices, even the smaller
ones, which would soon become impractical when the couple have
children.

-Not all families can provide for an apartment for their children
when they get married

-Most Loan deals have astronomical interest rates, and would lead
the young couple to digging a huge debt for themselves before
they’ve begun their lives

-Renting is not accepted by Egyptian middle class culture as the

husband is expected to provide an apartment

-Young newly-weds look to housing outside of the inner city looking

to places such as 6th of October for cheaper housing

-Egypt’s system is heavily centralized with most Government

institutions being in Cairo, especially downtown.

-Most people are employed inside of Cairo, so if they were to move

outside the daily commute would be necessary

-In most cases the newly weds families’ would be living in the inner
city, so it would be more difficult being a part of their lives should
they have to move.

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