Almost every single Egyptian girl faces the pressure of marriage! Stricken by the ailing Egyptian norms and traditions and being constantly judged on their marital status, many young women find themselves struggling to get on with their daily lives. Society pities the girl who didn’t get married. Unfortunately, the young generation still suffers from early and forced marriages. Here’s a list of the top ten things you might hear as a single Egyptian girl living in Egypt:

  • “3o2balek” which means we hope you’ll be the next bride. Basically, whenever you head off to an engagement party or a wedding ceremony, you will find everyone, including people you don’t know, telling you this. They perceive it as a good wish but single girls hate it more than anything, damn!
  • “Gaybalek 3arees” I identified you a good groom. These types of ladies do exist in every family; they’re the ones who interfere in your life and seem to always want to match you with potential grooms. When you refuse their precious offers, they act like “why the hell? Are you crazy? You will never find someone better than him.”
  • “Emta hanefra7 biky?” When will we be happy for you? Which typically means when will you get married? These nosy types of people could be your neighbors, family members, or your mother’s friends. Your parents could be be totally paranoid as well; they may go as far as asking you to “quit your job and embark on the journey of searching for the right groom.” Your parents may argue “most of your friends are getting married and you have to accept any groom”. Being surrounded by friends who recently got married doesn’t mean that you have to settle for just anyone who proposes.

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  • “Don’t have a boyfriend.” Parents believe that having a boy friend is unethical and that he will eventually end up dumping you. In fact, dating allows girls to know exactly what they want or don’t want in a partner.
  • “She isn’t a good friend, stay away from her.” Parents believe that some friends may have a negative influence on you, that you will turn out to be their exact bad copy. While in fact, this rarely happens.

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  • “Don’t travel abroad to study.” Many parents would by no means approve of the idea of having their daughter travel to study and live on her own in a foreign country. They think girls should only travel with their husbands.

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  • “You can’t come home late.” Your parents will always set a curfew and no matter what happens, you always have to respect it. Or else, your neighbors might start badmouthing you! This also applies to forcing you to refuse good job offers with late office hours.

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  • Your parents may ask you not to ” hang out with guys on your own”, in other scenarios “don’t be in a group outing with guys!” What will people say if they saw you goofing around with guys?
  • “Dress conservatively.” Some parents force their daughters to wear or not wear certain clothes, because, why not?!

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  • Having your mother order you to do the following: “Let’s visit your aunt, neighbor, friend, or go to the supermarket to buy food, or give me or my friend a ride to whatever place etc. Add to this, “help me with the cooking or tidying the house.”

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As a single Egyptian lady, trust me if you rush into marrying the wrong man, you will struggle and end up alone. You have to search for the right guy, the one who makes you happy, who is always there for you, supports you, and last but not least who showers you with unconditional love. Don’t attempt to satisfy your parents and ruin your life. Our advice is to spend your youth doing everything you dreamt to do because most probably you won’t have such an opportunity after marriage. Travel a lot, develop yourself by learning a new skill such as dancing, playing a musical instrument or drawing, or get a degree. Surely, this will make you feel very proud of yourself.