Saudi organization launches overseas marriage initiative

A Saudi organization launched an initiative that aims at encouraging Saudi men inside the kingdom to marry Saudi girls living abroad in an attempt to counter the rise of foreign marriages. Tawfik al-Suwailem, Chairman of the Charitable Society for the Care of Saudi Families Abroad- Awaser, called upon Saudi youth to consider marrying their female compatriots who live abroad instead of engaging in what he labeled “random marriages,” in reference to the issue of marrying foreign women which remarkably increases during the summer when Saudis go on holidays. “Unlike marrying a foreigner, a Saudi man won’t need a permit from the Ministry of Interior when marrying a Saudi living abroad,” Suwailem was quoted as saying by the Saudi newspaper al-Hayat. Suwailem added that there are several advantages of marrying Saudi women living abroad. “The bride and the groom will have a similar social background and the same traditions. Plus, this kind of marriages would encourage those girls to come back to Saudi Arabia.” Suwailem warned Saudi men of falling into the trap set for them by marriage brokers abroad who take advantage of rich youth and marry them to foreigners. “Brokers who work in both Arab and Western countries make a lot of money through marrying Saudi men to foreign women.” Some of those youth, he added, might violate the laws of the countries in which they get married without knowing it. “Then those brokers start blackmailing them and make them pay money in return for not reporting their violations.” In addition, he added, many of those youth marry foreigners abroad without getting the necessary permit from the kingdom. “So, they end up also violating Saudi laws.”