Saudi marriage officials form WhatsApp group calling on young men to marry more than one wife

MAKKAH — Eight marriage officials of Saudi Arabia have formed a group to arrest a rising number of divorced women, widows, and spinsters in the country, the Saudia Gazette reported.

The group has been established under the name “polygamy”. Members of the group said they were urging young men to marry more than one wife in order to cut down the number of Saudi women without partners.

The officials implemented the idea after noticing the rising rates of divorce in Makkah and decided to encourage polygamy.

The group gathered data of about 900 women including divorcees,  widows and single women. Some women forwarded their names saying they would not have any problem being a second, third or a fourth wife.

Saudi, Yemeni, Moroccan, Syrian, Palestinian, Egyptian, Nigerian, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Pakistani and women of other nationalities joined the group.

According to the list, the oldest of the women was 55 years old and the youngest 18. Their heights ranged from 140 to 177 centimeters and their weight 45-98 kg.

Some of the women also expressed wishes about their future partner. One of them asked for a dowry of SR60,000 while another said her future husband should have memorised the entire Qur’an.

The women’s educational qualifications varied from master’s degree to high secondary school. One of them has a PhD and is teaching at a university. The list also included women with no education at all but who did not mind polygamy.

One of the women who applied through the group is a divorcee with eight children. The marriage officials said they are ready to assist in matchmaking free of charge.