He was a doctor. She was a dentist. And they loved each other, to the point of broaching marriage to their parents. But a romantic union between these two medical professionals fell apart over an economic indicator: the price of gold in Egypt.
Mohamed Abdel-Alim, 31, said his hopes of marrying his dentist bride-to-be earlier this year were dashed when her family wouldn’t budge on a customary gift of shiny gold jewelry known as a shabka.
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The Egyptian equivalent of a diamond engagement ring, the shabka symbolizes the beginning of the lifelong bond of marriage. But it has become prohibitively expensive in a country struggling with unemployment, stagnant salaries and soaring prices.
Mr. Abdel-Alim said his intended’s parents demanded a shabka worth about $7,885, roughly twice the price of a year ago for the same amount of gold, a result of the sharp depreciation of the Egyptian pound and a foreign currency shortage. “I could only afford half that amount,” he said. “They wouldn’t accept it, and it was such a disappointment.”
The families’ failure to come to terms ended the pair’s relationship, Mr. Abdel-Alim said, a fairly commonplace in Egypt’s complex marital marketplace. The bride’s family couldn’t be reached for comment.
Financial hardships are forcing Egyptians to look for ways to save money in realms once thought off-limits to scrimping, from marriage gifts to baby formula and life-preserving medicines. The country’s economic crisis has shaken public confidence in PresidentAbdel Fattah Al Sisi, who has staked his leadership on being in touch with the concerns of ordinary Egyptians.
Last week, dozens of desperate mothers staged a rare public protest, with their wailing infants in their arms, over shortages in baby formula. The protest prompted the government and military to reduce restrictions on importing the staple and ease the eligibility requirements for subsidized baby milk. Meanwhile, some medicines have doubled in price or disappeared from the market as the cost of basic foods has dramatically increased due to high inflation.
Behind the rising prices is a wobbly Egyptian currency whose value has been knocked lower by declines in tourism and foreign investment. Black-market dealers have done a brisk business buying dollars at a nearly 40% premium over the official rate of 8.88 Egyptian pounds per dollar, which the central bank has held steady since devaluing the currency in March. Annual inflation is currently 14%.
Moreover, Egypt isn’t generating the jobs to keep pace with the rising cost of living. Unemployment has hovered around 13% for several years, and that figure is roughly double for young people between 15 and 29 years old, who make up about a quarter of Egypt’s population of 90 million.
The country’s economic pain is set to intensify. In exchange for $12 billion in loans to the Egyptian government, the International Monetary Fund has called for Egypt to overhaul its subsidy and tax policies. Egyptian officials acknowledge that introducing those changes without overwhelming citizens with higher expenses and painful shortages is a tall task likely to face stiff political resistance.
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