A dad in Yemen asks his prospective son-in-law to collect one million Facebook ‘likes’ to prove his commitment to his daughter instead of a traditional cash dowry.
Sometimes, the question of how to judge suitability for marriage is so complicated as to be totally impenetrable. Is a man who is committed to his career and earning loads a good catch, or will he turn out to be a potentially disengaged partner?
Do opposites attract, or do they just drive each other up the wall eventually? Sometimes, you find yourself wishing for something a little less abstract, a measure that relies less on secretly googling your intended and plumping his exes for info.
Like, say, a dowry? Many in this country might object to the concept of the dowry on the basis of it being a straight-up financial arrangement.
Marriage is supposed to be all about love, or something. But really marriage is, and has always been, a legal and financial arrangement betweena families only recently interrupted by a Hollywood ideal of eternal partnership based on liking the way someone looked at you while crossing the street in New York City (or equivalent romcom trope).
Let’s face it: You don’t necessarily need money to ensure happiness, but being able to talk honestly about money right from the start eliminates a significant source of marital discord. But in the Internet age, it seems an old fashioned dowry just isn’t what it used to be.
Instead of requesting money for the privilege of marrying his daughter, one father in Yemen has made the unprecedented request that the groom-to-be organise one million Facebook ‘likes’ to prove he is dedicated and hardworking enough to be worthy of joining the family. In a country where the population is only 25 million, that’s a big ask. Salim Ayyash, who is well known among internet-savvy residents in the area, is reportedly monitoring his future son-in-law’s actions on FB and Twitter to check whether he is making progress towards the goal. http://en.alalam.ir/news/1544955
The page, which was opened on Sunday, reportedly has 30,000 likes so far. It may sound strange but as proving suitability for marriage goes, well, why not? My husband brought to our marriage a dowry of a dozen boxes of history books, far too many pairs of enormous shoes that all look alike, and a keen talent for breaking the washing machine.
–telegraph.co.uk
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